The Scottish ice dancer who beat off double world champions to scoop gold in Skate America Grand Prix

The pair won gold at the Skate America Grand Prix in Texas, beating double world champions and Olympic team gold medallists, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, from the US. The victory makes them the first non-American team to win gold in ice dance at Skate America since 2008.

Gibson, from Prestwick and partner Fear, who train in Canada at the Ice Academy of Montreal, were lying in first place after the rhythm dance on Saturday, almost six points clear of Chock and Bates, who suffered a fall during their routine.

In the free dance, they scored 122.82 - behind Chock and Bates, who scored 127.75 - but finished in first overall, with a combined score of 205.63. Chock and Bates scored a combined total of 206.38.

Fear said: “The atmosphere here is so electric. It was so supportive and warm and encouraging and we had so much fun out there. The title hasn’t sunk in yet.

Gibson added: “For us, it’s very exciting to finish our first Grand Prix at the top.”

British-born skater Olivia Smart, who now competes for Spain and performed as a professional on Dancing on Ice two years ago, took the bronze medal with her partner Tim Dieck.

Gibson, who started skating after watching Dancing on Ice as a child and trained at Ayr Ice Rink, is ranked in the top few ice dancers in the world, with partner Fear.

In March, they placed fourth in the World Figure Skating Championships and won silver in the European Figure Skating Championships.

Speaking to The Scotsman in Montreal, they revealed their ambitions to win gold at the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics.

The ice dance couple will also compete in the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland, in November. Couples are assigned to either one or two competitions in the six-competition Grand Prix series.

The top scoring athletes at the end of the series will compete in the Grand Prix final in Tallinn, Estonia, in December.

In the pairs competition, Anastasia Vaipan Law and Luke Digby, from Dundee, scored a personal best with a combined total of 180.13, placing sixth overall. They will also compete at NHK Trophy in Japan.

They told journalists: “We feel like we are exactly at the right place we want to be at at this point of the season. We now want to keep the level and of course keep improving.”