While there was heartache for one British pair in the Olympic figure skating in Milan on Wednesday night, one woman from Sheffield had a smile to light up the arena.

As Great Britain’s 32-year wait for an Olympic figure skating medal went on after ice dancers Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson spectacularly crashed out, Olivia Smart was celebrating a strong showing while representing Spain.

The 28-year-old, who was born in the Steel City and learned to skate at IceSheffield before setting out on her Olympic journey by moving to the United States at 14, finished ninth alongside Tim Dieck in the colours of Spain in the ice dance.

But it was their performance to the theme of Dune in the free dance that captivated the crowd, earning them 112.96 points, the sixth best of the evening, and enough to climb from 10th to ninth on the overall standings.

Sheffield's Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain react after competing during the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

placeholder image — Sheffield's Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain react after competing during the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Afterwards, Smart received a special message from her grandparents watching on from home in Sheffield.

“I got a surprise FaceTime call from my grandparents back home in England — they were wearing their Spanish T-shirts,” said Smart (inset), who was competing in her second Olympics.

“They didn’t come to the Olympics because we have like 10 dogs at home that need to be taken care of.

“My parents are actually here, though. But that call was such a beautiful surprise. Competing at the Olympics was a spectacular moment.”

Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain compete during the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gibson and Fear finished seventh overall but that was a disappointment given they had gone into the free dance fourth in the standings, less than a point outside the bronze medal position.

Two early stumbles cost the tartan-clad duo any hope of emulating Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean who won a bronze in Lillehammer in 1994, a decade after their famous Bolero won gold in Sarajevo. It left the British pair. almost eight points adrift of their season’s best.

Having started the night just 0.71 points off the podium, their cumulative total of 204.32 saw them slide down the rankings and ultimately finish more than 10 points adrift of Canadians Gilles Piper and Paul Poirier, who had started the evening in their sights but delivered when it mattered to take bronze with 217.74.

It proved a bitterly disappointing conclusion for the British pair, who have emerged in recent years as potential heirs to Torvill and Dean after a series of world and European medals, and had been strongly fancied to end that three-decade wait in Italy.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain compete during the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

An emotional Fear said: “I can’t believe it’s happened. I am replaying it in my head and it’s just such a shame. I don’t really have the words yet. It will take me some time to process. I wanted to come out here and enjoy the Olympic experience and skate for me and skate for Lewis.”

Above the Canadians, US husband and wife pair Evan Bates and Madison Chock took silver, while French duo Guillaume Cizeron, the 2022 champion, and his new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold.

Sheffield’s Luke Digby begins his bid for glory in the pairs alongside Anastasia Vaipan-Law on Sunday night.