Dundee duo hailed after impressive world show

DUNDEE figure skaters Luke Digby and Anastasia Vaipan-Law impressed on their debut at the World Championships in Japan.

The pair qualified for the major event in Saitama after sealing a second-straight British pairs title and finishing 10th in the European Championships in January.

The Dundee-based duo had revealed their aims for the competition in an exclusive interview with Tele Sport last week.

And they achieved those by comfortably finishing in the top 20 pairs after the initial Short Program.

A score of 55.42 saw them through in 17th before they improved their position in the Free Program, moving up to 16th.

Great Britain coach Simon Briggs said: “I couldn’t be prouder of this team today.

“They have improved so much over this season and put down two great performances.

“What a brilliant World Championship debut.”

The young duo were also delighted with their clean performance in a unique atmosphere.

“I am very happy with our performances in front of this amazing crowd,” Vaipan-Law said.

“Nine years ago I was in this venue as a spectator and now I am competing at the highest level.”

Luke, meanwhile, is keen to enjoy competing at the top as they bid to qualify for the next Winter Olympics in Milan in 2026.

“We are overall pleased with our first Worlds,” Luke said.

“This has just been the first year of the Olympic cycle and we are building slowly towards it.

“Of course our goal is to compete there, but what we want to enjoy is the journey towards it.”

Winning gold was home pair Riki Miura and Ryuichi Kihara ahead of the US duo Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier.

LOOKING UP: Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby put on a superb showing.