LILAH FEAR wants to entertain fans all over the world when she and partner Lewis Gibson step onto the Beijing ice at next month’s Winter Olympic Games.

Fear, 22, and Gibson, 27, were among the first Team GB athletes to seal a spot on the British plane – with the duo set to compete in the ice dance competition when the showpiece kicks off in under ten days’ time.

American-born Fear, who grew up in London and is a member of the Alexandra Palace London Skating Club, has enjoyed a previous taste of the Olympics – an experience that fuelled her desire to one day head there as a competitor.

Fear, whose journey to the Games has been fuelled by a £40,000 injection of funding to figure skating through UK Sport’s Beijing Support Fund, said: “We actually went to PyeongChang as part of Team GB’s Ambition Programme.

“That was a really valuable experience for us. We got to feel that tangible energy in the arena and it made us so excited and so hungry to qualify one day ourselves and work as hard as we possibly could.

“When we got selected, I got very emotional because it’s a moment that I dreamed of, and for it to have actually happened, I couldn’t quite believe it. 

“I was just so proud of our team and so, so grateful. Lewis and I had a huge hug and just said to each other: ‘this is actually happening!’”

She added: “I think there’s always the awareness that people are watching and that we’ve had a lot of experience with the heightened emphasis of the cameras when there were no spectators at the World Championships.

“We know that there are people watching and we want to translate that into love and support to skating fans all over the world. Once we’re performing I’d say it’s the two of us and we’re really connected and present and I hope that radiates out in our performance.”

In October last year, UK Sport announced a new investment stream for winter sports not currently in receipt of World Class Programme funding in order to lift their preparations for, and performances at, the Olympic Winter Games.

And Fear has taken full advantage of that support as her and Gibson crank up preparation for competing in the Chinese capital.

Fear wants the pair to remain as aesthetically-pleasing as ever when they showcase their innovative routine next February – taking to the ice to the tune of one of the world’s favourite musicals.

“Our rhythm dance is a Kiss medley, so a little alternative for ice dance,” added Fear, whose sport is one of seven to benefit from the Beijing Support Fund as UK Sport embark on their mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments and reach, unite and inspire the nation.

“We’re doing Lion King for the free dance so it's very different, but really fun to explore those different characters and storylines.

“We’ll really train through Christmas and New Year because we have the European Championships in early January and we want to train very hard up to that, and make a lot of improvements and some changes in our programme.”

UK Sport has an ambition to become an ever-greater force in winter sport. The Beijing Support Fund, which utilises Government and National Lottery investment, demonstrates UK Sport’s commitment to a wider group of sports, athletes and teams in the high-performance community as part of its mission to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation. For more information visit www.uksport.gov.uk