The United States has impressed the world during the 2014 Winter Olympics by receiving, as of February 20th, seven gold medals, five silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. Among those seven gold medals, Meryl Davis and Charlie White became the first ever U.S. Olympic couple to receive a gold medal in ice dancing. At the 2010 Olympics, Davis and White received the silver medal, while Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir from Canada won the gold medal.
This year both teams returned in hopes of winning the gold. After their short program performance White and Davis were leading with a score of 78.89, with the duo from Canada tailing. During their free dancing, White and Davis beat Virtue and Moir once again, allowing them to take the gold medal for the very first time.
Davis and White were paired together by their mothers in 1997. They have been dancing together for 17 years, allowing them to grow as skaters together.
When they originally began skating, Davis was so shy she could not look White in the eyes while skating. Their coaches placed a smiley face sticker on White’s forehead to help her feel less awkward, said ABC News.
Nowadays, White and Davis are extremely comfortable around each other and definitely portray their feelings on the ice. Some may believe that White and Davis are entertaining a romantic relationship, but both say that they are just lifelong friends.
All of their hard work and dedication truly paid off as they became the first United States ice dancers to receive the gold medal.
In response to their gold medal performance Charlie White told The New York Times, “I think it’s a really great representation of how we’ve become a complete team. It was a process of being able to embody those characters and be bigger than the music and not let it overcome us.”
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