The first Olympic title for the United States was delivered on Monday by Meryl Davis and Charlie White, beating their rivals and training partners, Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, in a competition of ice dance, the Associated Press reported.
While Davis and White won the gold medal, Virtue and Moir of Canada, the 2010 champions, took silver. Russia's Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov captured bronze.
In the four years since Davis and White won silver in Vancouver, they have overtaken the Canadians, their training partners in Detroit, the AP reported.
Ahead of Virtue and Moir, the Americans scored 116.63 points in the free dance to finish with 195.52, 4.53.
Having started skating together in 1997, Davis and White were nearly flawless on the biggest day of their career, according to the AP.
When the music from "Sheherazade" ended with White on a knee, Davis rested her head on White's back in exhausted elation, the AP reported.
"That in itself justified 17 years of hard work," White said of their performance.
As the music swelled over the final minute of the program, their feet were in nonstop motion yet every movement was intricately choreographed. Their lifts were a blur as White spun across the ice with Davis held aloft.
Both of them have a medal of each color now after winning bronze in the new team event in Sochi.
According to the AP, "Virtue and Moir became the first North Americans to win Olympic ice dance gold at their home Olympics in Vancouver. Their free dance to Russian classical music Monday told the story of their partnership, which also stretches back to 1997."
In a performance that appeared tender at time and triumphant during others, Moir kissed her hand at the start and continued to do it several times throughout the program.
The Russian team of Bobrova and Katsalapov took home the bronze, after a dynamic final performance that left the local crowd at the Iceberg Skating Palace in jubilation, the AP reported.
Davis and White surpassed Virtue and Moir in the last couple years, winning four head-to-head competitions, including the 2011 and 2013 world championships, coming into the Sochi Games.
Some thought the margin between the two teams should have been closer following the short dance, which would have tightened the race for gold.
However, it didn't matter in the end as Davis and White claimed gold in definitive fashion, the AP reported.
