Britain’s most noteworthy figure skating duo since Torvill and Dean are aiming to put sport back in spotlight of 1984

More than four decades have come and gone since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean enamoured the world with their epochal Boléro routine at the 1984 Winter Olympics, collecting a slew of perfect 6.0s from the judges and a permanent place in British sporting lore. Their names remain shorthand for excellence in figure skating – especially in the UK, where the sport has long since faded from the spotlight.

This week in Boston, however, another British ice dance duo are quietly building on a legacy of their own. When Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson take the TD Garden ice for the rhythm dance on Friday afternoon, they will do so as genuine medal contenders. After finishing fourth at the last two world championships, the pair arrive in Massachusetts in form: winners of both their Grand Prix assignments, bronze medallists at the Grand Prix final, and holders of seven national titles – the same number Torvill and Dean hauled in during their glittering career.