by BARB REICHERT
In a roomful of powerful women and celebrity athletes, Meryl Davis stood alone. But not for long. Charlie White, of course, ended
up by her side. For the past 17 years, that’s been his natural place, and likewise, hers. But on this night, the spotlight belonged only to Meryl, the 2014 Women’s Sports Foundation Sports- woman of the Year (Team). What an unusual situa- tion for the 2014 Olympic ice dance champions, whose names are rarely said publicly without being connected by an “and.”
U.S. FIGURE SKATING ATHLETES HONORED AS
WSF SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR 1986: Debi Thomas
1998: Michelle Kwan 2002: Sarah Hughes 2014: Meryl Davis (Team)
Davis accepts the Women’s Sports Foundation honor for Sportswoman of the Year (Team).
T e singular focus didn’t bother the easygoing
Charlie: “I didn’t feel excluded in the slightest.” Meryl would have it no other way. After be-
ing invited as a fi nalist to WSF’s Annual Salute to Women Gala in New York on Oct. 15, Meryl im- mediately invited Charlie as her “Plus One.” Join- ing them for the black-tie event at the Cipriani Wall Street were Meryl’s parents, Cheryl and Paul Davis; Charlie’s mom, Jacqui White; U.S. Figure Skating President Samuel Auxier and his wife, Lynn; Olym- pic judge Shawn Rettstatt; and their longtime IMG representation, Yuki Saegusa and Hailey Ohnuki. Seated near the stage, the group witnessed a
likely fi rst in the gala’s 35-year history. When ce- lebrity presenters Michelle Kwan and Paralympi- an Amy Purdy called Meryl onstage to accept the award, Meryl extended her hand to Charlie. “Out of all the Women’s Sports Foundation
Galas I’ve been to, this is the fi rst time anyone has accepted the Team award onstage as a team,” said Sarah Hughes, the 2002 Olympic champion and
10 DECEMBER 2014
WSF Sportswoman of the Year. “Leave it to Meryl and Charlie to break yet another record!” Auxier recognized the invitation not as a ges-
ture, but as a key to their success. “I thought that was incredibly classy of Meryl
to bring her partner up with her and acknowledge he was critical to her success,” Auxier said. “I think that type of attitude is what helped diff erentiate them from all the other teams and what took them to the gold medal.”
While inviting Charlie onstage was an un- scripted moment, Meryl had it planned. “I knew I was going to take Charlie up there
with me and included him when I wrote the speech,” she said. “T ere was never any question in my mind that I would go up there without him. I won the award because of our team. For us, it’s always been about the team.” Fittingly, their display of unity exemplifi ed the
cohesive spirit of the room, which was packed with some of the most iconic female athletes in history.
“All the women were there for each other, there
to really celebrate each other,” Cheryl Davis said. “Small- and large-framed girls, all strong, all athlet- ic, all hugging each other. In that room, there was no diff erence between any of them because they all worked so hard. T ey all shared the same goal of ex- cellence.” “Meryl belongs in this extraordinary group or
women,” Charlie said. “Everyone there recognized our partnership, but the fact is she does an amazing job representing women in sports, and that needed to be out there and rewarded.” Paul Davis said his daughter was humbled to be in such company. “Meryl was just thrilled to be among so many
amazing athletes,” he said. “She is so very proud of this award. I’m 59, and things have changed so much for female athletes over the years. To see our daughter included in this group of women was real- ly special.”
Among the attendees were WSF founder and
PHOTO BY MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES
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