Olympic skating hopefuls practise on Promenade in Blackpool

Lydia Smart and her figure skating partner, Harry Mattick, had found it impossible to train on ice during lockdown, and they amazed passers-by as they practiced their lifts during an impromptu training session on the Prom at South Shore.

Lydia, 22, and Harry, 26, had both competed at the British Championships as individuals and, last August, agreed to join forces in the hope of representing Team GB in the pairs at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Newly graduated with a first-class honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Birmingham, Lydia would normally train at the Pleasure Beach Ice Arena in Blackpool but rinks have been closed since March.

Lydia takes up the story: “I knew Harry from training. He was ranked three in the UK and I’m 10. There was only one team with a better ranking than that, so I asked him and he agreed to team up.

“We moved in together at the start of lockdown, so we could train safely off the ice.

“The Bradford ice rink reopened recently for elite skaters only. That’s Harry’s home city and we’ve been able to get back on the ice there after four months.”

The longer-term plan is to move to Oxford, where their coach is based, in the hope of stepping up their bid for a place in the GB team for Beijing.

But every bit of practice during lockdown could only help, including that Saturday session on the Prom.

Harry said: “Practising off ice is very different but we are so dedicated to achieving our goal that nothing will stop us.

“We had lots of people shouting at us to go on Britain’s Got Talent. One thought we were ballet dancers and another just shouted, ‘Don’t drop her!’”

That public workout also made a point about the problems facing elite sportspeople like Lydia and Harry during lockdown.

Lydia added: “The Government is allowing rinks to open on August 1 but they will only open if they think the public will come. Most of them won’t open until later in the year.

“It has left a lot of people without jobs and a lot of skaters with nowhere to train.

“I work as a coach but it’s very difficult at the moment. I haven’t coached for a year and I don’t qualify for any Government money. As of now there are no dates for any competitions, so it’s all up in the air.”

But if Lydia and Harry do go on to grace the world’s greatest competition, they may look back fondly at the small part played by that session on Blackpool Prom.