ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2024: Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri retain ice dance title in Kaunas
The Italian duo held off a surging Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, while Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius delighted the home crowd in third
Figure Skating
Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri won their second-straight, continental ice dance title at the 2024 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania on Saturday (13 January).
The duo held off a strong challenge from Team GB's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, but ultimately found the top of the podium with a total score of 214.38 to Fear and Gibson's 210.82. Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius finished with the bronze medal at 203.37.
Coming into Saturday's free dance, Guignard and Fabbri held a slight lead over Fear and Gibson, 86.80 to 85.20 after the rhythm dance.
The 1.4 margin set up a showdown for gold and silver between the two veteran pairs, while the battle for bronze came down to three teams separated by just over four points: Czechia's sister-brother duo of Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler, France's Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud, and hometown favourties Reed and Ambrulevicius.
Taschlerova and Taschler were first to skate in the final group, but despite a season's best free dance score (114.87), failed to challenge for the podium. They fell from fifth after the rhythm dance to seventh in the final standings.
Skating to two songs by Sergei Rachmaniov, Lopareva and Brissaud laid down their challenge with another season's best score - 118.70 - putting the pressure on Reed and Ambrulevicius.
But if the duo felt pressure, it didn't show as a breathless audience lifted their compatriots through an elegant and refined performance. Reed and Ambrulevicius took in the moment at centre ice afterward, feeling the love the crowd and the confidence that a medal was on the way.
Their 122.64 score was a personal best and with just two left to skate, assured their podium position.
Fear and Gibson used a dynamic - though not error free - performance set to music from the movie 'Rocky' to score 125.62 in the free dance, nearly five points off their best score of the 2023-24 season.
The slight errors from the British duo opened the door for the Italians to cruise to victory. Guignard and Fabbri blended emotion and grace with technical excellence, earning a free dance score of 127.58 to secure their second straight European crown.
Schedule and timings for 2024 European Figure Skating Championships
All times local Eastern European Time (UTC +2 hours) and subject to change
Sunday 14 January
- 15:30–18:00 – Exhibition gala
Where to watch European Figure Skating Championships 2024
The ISU YouTube channel will carry a live stream of all sessions from Kaunas, subject to territorial restrictions.
In Europe, the competition will be available to watch on Eurosport and some national broadcasters, while NBC holds the rights in the United States – check local listings and Peacock for more information.
Australian fans can watch on SBS On Demand.