SOCHI ICE DANCE FREE SKATE

Congratulations Meryl Davis and Charlie White, United States Gold medalists for ice dance! You have done so well, you especially make the citizens of Michigan proud of your achievement!!

at the ice dance flower ceremony photo courtesy Clive Mason/Getty Images

Okay, so here we go with the actual progression to a final medal.

After the lower ranked ice dancers perform, who are quite good, they just need more, and may very well re-appear in 2018 Olympics, the top five hit the ice.

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, are captivating in their waltz, in total unison they are fluid and energetic. They are so complete and together, especially in tight formation. How does Tessa stand on Scott's thigh in her skate?  Flawless.  Such high ballet lifts.  The twizzles are working!  Beautiful lift, wonderfully extended arms, they have given their best.  

Virtue and Moir earn 114.66 for the free skate, 190.99 total. This will be tough to beat for Davis and White. A kind of flat ending, no finale, but no one can argue that this program was certainly beautifully skated.  Lovely pale pink and rhinestone dress.  Virtue and Moir are smiling and tired.  Big hugs and kisses with coach.  These are silver medalists~

poetry in motion photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

What goes through the minds of competitors waiting in the wings to perform?  Do they know the scores, or no?  With myself, I would rather not know. Just get out there and skate. Period. 

Ice dancing is so difficult.  Imagine you are a great dancer, so that instead, you resort to ice to create the challenge.

The Russians, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, skate next to Swan Lake, minus the black gloves.  The same program as in the Team Skate competition. This ice dance duo is "In it from head to toe," remarks one commentator.  Okay, 110.44 points for the free skate, Elena and Nikita are currently in 2 place, with 183.48 total score.  These ice dancers become bronze medalists~

photo courtesy Jeff Swinger/USA Today

Here we go, Meryl Davis and Charlie White enter the ice rink.  No United States ice dancers have ever won.  These two skaters have trained together over one thousand times. Practice makes perfect.

 Okay, the audience breathes a deep sigh, holds onto their seats, begin!  Davis and White are going for gold.  Just skate.  Oh my goodness, like Torvill and Dean, one sees one tight flow. They are in unison, they must be in love. See my post on the Short Program for the Torvill and Dean 1984 Bolero performance.

Are Davis and White the new Torvill and Dean?  Hard to say, the Bolero was a slightly slower paced dance than Scheherazade, thus adding tension to the piece, less here.  I would say the comparison is valid and very close, but Torvill and Dean still stand as the ultimate romantic ice dance icons in my book.

Back to the Iceberg Palace~

You could hear a pin drop during this performance. Just do it, we are so in love with these two! We want them to win!  They pull at your heart, this is skating, this is passion, double twizzles!!  We love you! Triumph!! Pure perfection. These are gold medalists~

photo courtesy of Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

Under intense pressure, and they made it. You have to fight for gold, and these two fought!  112.11 points is what they need for gold. Such precision, from Scheherazade. telling her story. Four (4) years of intense training can be reduced to 4 minutes on the ice in front of the entire world. With such scrutiny, one must be in the moment. These beautiful athletes receive a free skate score of... 116.63. GOLD!!  They are Olympic champions!! We love you both, congratulations!!  Total ice skate score of 195.53, a slim margin as compared to the Canadians, yet indeed still a solid win!