Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson turned in a commanding free dance to win the NHK Trophy ice dance title with a total score of 205.88 points, holding off Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri in a thrilling finish that showcased the depth of this Olympic-cycle field.

Skating to an appreciative crowd inside Osaka’s RACTAB Dome, Fear and Gibson combined their rhythm dance lead of 81.57 with a free dance mark of 124.31 points — the highest of the competition. Their energetic program to a Scottish medley earned level 4 (the highest ranking for execution of an element) for their twizzles, dance spin and each of their lifts. This result caps a strong Grand Prix campaign that now positions them firmly among the season’s favorites heading into December’s Grand Prix Final. 

"Our goal was to have fun and do what we train. We love coming to Japan, so we really wanted to soak in the moment, but also, we had a job to do out there and I think that combination was really powerful and came together for us today," Fear said.

Gibson added the music has particular meaning for him for this Olympic season. "I have so much pride in my country and getting to skate to Scottish music is such a dream come true. It feels really fulfilling." 

Italy’s veterans Guignard and Fabbri were close behind, finishing with a total of 198.67 points after a smooth, character-driven free dance to the soundtrack of the popular Italian film, 'Diamanti,' which kept them comfortably in 2nd place. The Italian music, which carries a positive message, seems perfectly chosen for a Winter Olympics soon to take place in their home country. The result extends their Grand Prix medal count to 13.

Team USA placed three teams inside the top six, underscoring the country’s depth in ice dance once again. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons claimed bronze with 187.90 points, compounding on their third-place rhythm dance and rebounding strongly after withdrawing from the previous Grand Prix due to injury. As a result of the withdrawal, this was their first time performing their free dance at a Grand Prix event, and the team, who both once skated with their siblings, made a convincing argument for one of the U.S.' three 2026 Olympic berths.

Claiming 4th place in the free dance, Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski delivered one of their most complete international performances, finishing in 5th overall with 182.85 points. Their free dance total of 110.73 with a nod to 'Kill Bill,' showed an early comfort at the senior level for a couple just out of the junior category competing at their first Grand Prix.

In a long-awaited return, Maia and Alex Shibutani finished sixth overall with 180.50 points. Their program — a reprise of their 2018 free dance to Coldplay's 'Fix you' — carried an emotional resonance and maturity bestowed by their seven years away from the ice, earning 108.76 points. Competing in their first Grand Prix event since 2017, the Olympic bronze medalists seemed tentative, but showed clarity and trademark unison, earning loud applause from the Japanese audience that remembered their PyeongChang performances.

Czech sibling pair Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler landed 4th overall with 183.33 points, maintaining their podium-adjacent consistency from last season with a characteristically strong free dance skated to the 'Matrix.' 

Rounding out the top 10: In 7th, Germany’s Jennifer Janse van Rensburg and Benjamin Steffan (177.54) gave an intense, flamenco-inspired performance with complex lifts, Finland’s Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen (175.57) took on the music of 'Moulin Rouge' with Can-Can-themed intricate choreography to move up to 8th and Canada’s Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer (174.71) performed a powerful free dance with strong edge work and emotive connection to 'Leave a Light On,' by Tom Walker. Japan’s Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita had a difficult skate in Osaka with two major errors including a call for a fall but thrilled the home crowd, with a combined total of 155.28, moving down two spots from the rhythm dance for 10th place.

The next stop on the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix series will be Skate America in Lake Place, NY, Nov. 14-16, aired on NBC and streaming on Peacock.