The ISU European Figure Skating Championships wrapped up in Sheffield, Great Britain, featuring Europe's top figure skaters, with commanding wins from Niina Petrokina of Estonia in women’s singles, Nika Egadze of Georgia in the men’s event, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron in the ice dance and Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who made history by claiming Georgia’s first-ever European title in pairs. Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson drew one of the largest reactions from a packed home crowd, earning bronze overall. Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx returned to the podium in women’s singles, while Italy and Germany featured prominently across disciplines in a championship defined by dramatic shifts between segments.

Estonia’s Niina Petrokina capped a statement week in Sheffield by winning the women’s title with 216.14 points, finishing first in both the short program and free skate. After injury and uncertainty whether she would be able to secure a second European title, Petrokina was relieved to pull off the feat.

“The first time [winning] was a shock,” she said. “My second title gives me much more power for the Olympics.”

Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx, competing in her first European Championships since injury setbacks last season, rebounded from a 5th place short program with the third-best free skate to take silver at 191.26. “From past injuries, I knew I could return. My love for skating is strong - that’s what kept me going,” the five-time Belgian national champion said. 

Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann delivered steady performances in both segments to earn bronze, holding her 4th place position from the short through her fan-favorite “Jaws”-inspired free skate.

The free skate produced some of the biggest moves of the event. Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova surged from 11th after the short to second in the free skate, finishing 5th overall. Finland’s Iida Karhunen and Romania’s Julia Sauter also climbed sharply up the standings, while Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone slipped from second after the short to eighth in the free, narrowly missing the podium.

Georgia’s Nika Egadze emerged from an eventful men’s competition with a decisive victory, scoring 273.00 points after winning both the short program and free skate. Egadze controlled the event from the outset, maintaining his lead despite pressure from a tightly packed chasing group.

Italy’s Matteo Rizzo delivered one of the standout free skates of the competition, climbing from 4th after the short to 2nd overall. The bronze medal went to Czech skater Georgii Reshtenko, who surged from eighth in the short program to 3rd with a confident free skate, one of the largest jumps up the leaderboard in Sheffield.

The men’s event was defined by volatility. Estonia’s figure skating brothers Aleksandr Selevko and Mihhail Selevko both sat inside the top three after the short program but dropped to 5th and 6th respectively following difficult free skates in which they placed 10th and 11th. Switzerland’s Lukas Britschgi who sought to defend his 2025 European title in Sheffield, remained in contention throughout, while Italy’s Daniel Grassl fell from 5th after the short to 13th overall after a troubled free program.

France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron completed a wire-to-wire victory in ice dance, winning both the rhythm dance and free dance to claim the European title with 222.43 points. After setting the early standard with a sharply executed, Madonna-themed rhythm dance, the French duo delivered the strongest free dance of the event, complete with unmatched edgework, control and symmetry, to pull clear of the field and secure gold in Sheffield.

"It's been a long road," Fournier Beaudry said after winning the title. "Now that we're here, I'm just so happy to share our love for this sport."

Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri climbed from 3rd after the rhythm dance to 2nd overall, pairing a steady rhythm dance with the second-best free dance score of the competition. 

Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, buoyed by home support, held onto a podium position, after a wobble on their twizzle sequence left them with a negative grade of execution, and seemed to rattle the usually solid team through the rest of their program. The 2025 World bronze medallists finished 3rd after ranking 2nd in the rhythm dance and 3rd in the free dance.

Just off the podium, France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud moved up from 5th after the rhythm to 4th overall with a solid outing of their Bjork free dance.

One of the strongest climbs of the event came from Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck, who surged from 10th after the rhythm dance to 5th in the free dance, rising to 7th overall thanks to their enormously difficult Dune free dance. Finland’s Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis remained consistent across both segments to place eighth, while France’s Loicia Demougeot and Theo le Mercier rounded out the top nine.

The depth of the field was underscored by close margins throughout the top 10, with multiple teams separated by less than two points after the free dance as the championship concluded.

Georgia celebrated a landmark moment in Sheffield as Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava captured the first European pairs title in the country’s history. The duo led after the short program and sealed gold with a commanding free skate, finishing with 215.76 points and clear separation from the rest of the field. “We are thrilled to have won the gold tonight,” Berulava said. “It is an amazing day for the Georgian Skating Federation and Georgia.”

Germany placed two teams inside the top four, led by 2025 European Champions Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who earned silver after finishing 2nd in the short and 3rd in the free. “It was a little bit shaky from the beginning and then we had an unfortunate mistake in the throw and the lift that usually never happens,” Hase said after their free skate. “But we fought till the end, tried to push till the end and we ended with the 2nd place which we are really happy about.

Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko moved up from 3rd after the short to 2nd in the free skate, securing bronze.

Another strong showing came from Germany’s Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel, who finished 4th, while Switzerland’s Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bouvart rounded out the top five. 

Great Britain’s Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby slipped from fifth after the short to ninth in the free but remained a home-crowd highlight in Sheffield.