DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES
2013 WOR LD F IGU RE S K AT I N G CHA MPION S H IPS U.S. DELIVERS RESULTSDavis and White reclaim gold medals Te United States arrived in Lon-
don, Ontario, Canada, for the 2013 World Figure Skating Champion- ships in mid-March with a lot to gain and a lot to lose. Meryl Davis and Charlie White put their undefeated season on the line against their longtime ice danc- ing rivals and rinkmates Tessa Vir- tue and Scott Moir from Canada. Davis and White remained perfect with a record-breaking performance that
garnered them their second
World title in three years. Te ice dance teams of Madison Chock and Evan Bates and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani en- sured the U.S. will have three teams represented at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi with a pair of top-10 finishes. Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold earned the U.S. ladies three Olympic spots next year with fifth- and sixth- place finishes, respectively, showing they have the talent and skill to compete against the world’s elite. U.S. pairs teams Alexa Scime- ca and Christopher Knierim and Marissa Castelli and Simon Shna- pir made successful debuts at the World Championships, finishing ninth and 13th, respectively. Teir joint effort guaranteed that the U.S. will send two pairs teams to Sochi. U.S. men’s champion Max Aar-
on proved he belongs in the World and Olympic conversation with a seventh-place effort in London. Te Arizona native once again showed off his amazing jumping prowess to finish less than two points out
of fifth place. His teammate, Ross Miner, settled for 14th place in the standout field.
Meryl and Charlie cap undefeated season in record fashion By Amy Rosewater
White entered the 2013 World Figure
Meryl Davis and Charlie Skating Championships
hoping to regain the ice dance World title they last won in 2011. Tey knew, however, that
to achieve that goal they would have to do it in London, Ontar- io, the hometown of their top ri- vals, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, two-time World champions and the 2010 Olympic champions. Davis and White, who train
less than three hours away in subur- ban Detroit, were aware they were playing an away game, although the concept in skating is a little different than it is in other sports. Take col-
lege football, for example, as White is an avid fan of the Michigan Wol- verines. If Michigan plays at Ohio State, the vast majority of folks in Columbus are rooting for the Buck- eyes and against the Wolverines. All over London there were signs and banners supporting Virtue and Moir, but truth be told, as much as the fans were in their corner, they came to the Budweiser Gardens to see good skating. Te fans didn’t get to see the
hometown team win but they left the building pretty pleased with the skating. Davis and White put out two riveting programs, including a short dance to Giselle that produced a world-record score, to win their second World title. “We’re so grateful to the
crowd,” Davis said. “We’re well aware that this is Scott and Tessa’s territory. Te level of respect and enthusiasm we got from the crowd was thrilling. We’re very apprecia- tive.”
2013 World ice dancing medalists (l-r) Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (silver), United States’ Meryl Davis and Charlie White (gold) and Russia’s Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (bronze)
Davis and White held the fans in a trance during their nearly flaw- less execution of their short dance. Every move was performed with distinction and precision but also with just the right amount of emo- tion and flow, for 77.12 points. In White’s words, it was “one of those dream skates.” For Virtue and Moir,
their
dream of winning a third World title in London pretty much ended that night as Virtue lurched forward while performing a twizzle, putting the couple down a seemingly insur- mountable 3.25 points. Davis and White, who became the first Americans to win a World crown in their sport in 2011, re- turned to the ice two days later and unleashed yet another strong per- formance. Tis time, their skate was to Notre Dame de Paris, and it was so intricate that both skaters said they were exhausted when the final note had played. Teir free dance, a striking opposite to Virtue and Moir’s racy Carmen routine, earned the top score of the night (112.44). Overall, Davis and White earned a world-record 189.56 total points. Virtue and Moir were the sil-
ver medalists, followed by the Rus- sian team of Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev with the bronze. But it was clear from these World Championships that Davis and White and Virtue and Moir are the clear frontrunners leading into next year’s Olympic Games. Bobro- va and Soloviev finished nearly 16 points behind the top two couples.
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