Meryl Davis
| Meryl Davis | |
|---|---|
 Davis & White at the 2008 Four Continents Championships | |
| Full name | Meryl Davis |
| Hometown | West Bloomfield, Michigan |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  United States |
| Partner | Charlie White |
| Coach | Igor Shpilband Marina Zoueva |
| Skating club | Arctic FSC |
Medal record | |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Figure skating | ||
| Pair's Ice dancing | ||
| Representing the United States
| ||
 |
2010 Vancouver | Ice dancing |
Meryl Davis (born January 1, 1987) is an American ice dancer. With partner Charlie White, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2010 World silver medalist, the 2009 & 2010 U.S. national champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, the 2009 Grand Prix Final champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist. Davis and White teamed up in 1997 and they are currently the longest lasting dance team in the United States. At the 2006 NHK Trophy, they became the first ice dancing team to earn level fours on all their elements.[1]
At the 2010 United States Figure Skating Championships, they were nominated to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics[2]. They won the silver medal in the ice dancing event.
As of April 2010[update], they are ranked 1st in the world by the International Skating Union (ISU).[3]
Personal life
Meryl Davis was raised in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She lives and attends school in Ann Arbor, Michigan and trains in Canton, Michigan.
In June, 2005, Davis graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School. She was a member of the National Honor Society and, upon graduation, received the Phi Beta Kappa Society award. She attends the University of Michigan, where she is majoring in cultural anthropology and is an active member of the sorority Delta Delta Delta.
Career
Early career
Davis began skating at age five so that she would be able to skate on a local lake in the winter. She started out as a single skater, but began doing ice dance at age eight. She got as high as Midwestern sectionals in novice ladies before quitting singles to focus on ice dancing.[4]
She was teamed up with Charlie White by her coach, Seth Chafetz[4] The duo immediately experienced success. In 1997 (their first year as partners) they won the silver medal at the Junior Olympics in the Juvenile division.
In the 2000–2001 season,they qualified for the 2001 United States Figure Skating Championships, placing 6th as Novices. The next season they won the silver medal as novices and then moved up to Junior. They did not win a medal at either of their two Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 7th at the 2002 United States Figure Skating Championships in their junior debut.
Junior carreer
In the 2003–2004 season, they won their sectional championship and then won the silver medal at Nationals. This earned them a trip to the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 13th.
In the 2004–2005 season, Davis and White did very well internationally on the Junior circuit, winning two bronze medals. However, White broke his ankle before Sectionals and so Davis and White were unable to qualify for the 2005 United States Figure Skating Championships. Their season ended there.
In the 2005–2006 season, they came back strong. They medaled at both their Junior Grand Prix events and placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the Junior National Title at the 2006 United States Figure Skating Championships and then won the bronze medal at the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Following that season, Davis aged out of Juniors.
Senior carreer
2006-2007 season
In the 2006–2007 season, they made their debut both nationally and internationally as seniors. They placed 4th at both their 2006-2007 ISU Grand Prix assignments. At the 2006 NHK Trophy, they became the first team to earn all level fours on their elements. At the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships, they won the bronze medal at the senior level, qualifying them for the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. They are the first team since Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto to go directly from winning the Junior national title to making the World team.
At the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships, Davis and White placed 7th, the highest debut placement for an American team at Worlds since 1980.[5]
2007-2008 season
Davis and White placed 4th at the 2007 Skate America and then went on to win their first Grand Prix medal at the 2007 Trophee Eric Bompard.
They completely revamped their Eleanor Rigby's Eleanor's Dream free dance before 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships due to its poor reception. They won the silver medal at the competition, one spot up from the previous season.
2008-2009 season
In the 2008–2009 season, Davis and White won their first Grand Prix assignment, the 2008 Skate Canada. In their second assignment, the 2008 Cup of Russia, they placed third in the compulsory dance, then eighth in the original dance. After placing second in the free skate, they moved up to win the bronze medal, which together with the gold from Skate Canada was enough to qualify them for their first Grand Prix Final. At the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final, they won the bronze medal.
At the 2009 National Championships, they won the event after reigning champions Belbin and Agosto withdrew due to injury. They won by a 20 point margin over silver medalists Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates.
In February 2009, they won the ice dance title at the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, placing second in both the compulsory and original dance behind training mates Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir but winning the free dance.[6]
At the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships they placed 4th. They placed third in both the original and free dance portions, they lost too much ground in the compulsory to overcome training mates Virtue and Moir for the bronze. Only .04 points separated 3rd from 4th.
2009-2010 season
They competed at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, finishing first in all the segments of the competition. Overall they won the gold medal with a score of 200.46 points, 30.87 ahead of silver medalists Alexandra Zaretski and Roman Zaretski.
They won the 2009 Rostelecom Cup and the 2009 NHK Trophy, which qualified them for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final. At the Grand Prix Final, they won the original dance and placed second in the free dance to win the title overall, becoming the first American ice dancers to do so[7]. At the 2010 National Championships, Davis and White beat former training partners Belbin and Agosto, the first time they'd ever done so, and led through all portions of the competition.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, they placed second to Canada's Virtue & Moir, winning silver. They skated a personal best in the free skate portion of ice dancing, garnering a score of 107.19 and received a personal best total score of 215.74.
They also won the silver medal at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships.
Programs
| Season | Original Dance | Free Dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2010 | Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli soundtrack by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa Silsila Ye Chahat Ka & Dola Re Dola from Devdas soundtrack by Sameer and Nusret Badr |
Overture & Music of the Night & Point of No Return from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson performed by David Cook |
| 2008–2009 | Happy Feet by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager 20's Piano Original Composition by Joe Laduke |
Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns S'Apre Per Te Il Mio Cuore by Filippa Giordano |
Don't Stop Me Now by Queen |
| 2007–2008 | Kalinka by Ivan Larionov |
Eleanor's Dream Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles |
Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin performed by Kevin Spacey |
| 2006–2007 | A Los Amigos by Astor Piazzolla |
Prince Igor from Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin |
Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin performed by Kevin Spacey |
| 2005–2006 | Ran Kan Kan – En Los Pasos de mi Padre by Tito Puente Bésame Mucho from Un Bolero Por Favor by Consuelo Velázquez performed by Nana Mouskouri |
Sarabande by Handel |
|
| 2004–2005 | Bésame Mucho from Un Bolero Por Favor by Consuelo Velázquez performed by Nana Mouskouri |
Sarabande by Handel |
|
| 2003–2004 | Pennsylvania 6-5000 That's All Right This Cat's on a Hot Tin Roof |
Hasta Que te Conoci De Mis Manos Voy a Conquistarte Que Viva la Alegria by Raúl di Blasio |
|
| 2002–2003 | Die Fledermaus by Johan Strauss |
Chocolat by Rachel Portman |
Competitive highlights
(with White)
Post-2004
| Event | 2004–2005 | 2005–2006 | 2006–2007 | 2007–2008 | 2008–2009 | 2009–2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 2nd | |||||
| World Championships | 7th | 6th | 4th | 2nd | ||
| Four Continents Championships | 4th | 2nd | 1st | |||
| World Junior Championships | 3rd | |||||
| U.S. Championships | 1st J. | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |
| Grand Prix Final | 3rd | 1st | ||||
| Cup of Russia | 3rd | 1st | ||||
| NHK Trophy | 4th | 1st | ||||
| Skate America | 4th | |||||
| Skate Canada International | 4th | 1st | ||||
| Trophee Eric Bompard | 3rd | |||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 1st | |||||
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 2nd | |||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Andorra | 2nd | |||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria | 1st | |||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Romania | 3rd | |||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Belgrade | 3rd |
Pre-2004
| Event | 1999–2000 | 2000–2001 | 2001–2002 | 2002–2003 | 2003–2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 13th | ||||
| U.S. Championships | 6th N. | 6th N. | 2nd N. | 7th J. | 2nd J. |
| Junior Grand Prix, Japan | 4th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic | 4th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Belgrade | 6th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany | 8th | ||||
| Hellmut Cup Memorial | 1st N. | ||||
| Midwestern Sectionals | 3rd N. | 2nd N. | 1st N. | 1st J. | |
| Eastern Great Lakes Regional | 3rd N. |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level
References
- ^ Welcome to U.S. Figure Skating
- ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Announces Ladies, Ice Dancing Teams Nominated to 2010 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team". U.S. Figure Skating. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "ISU World Standings for Figure Skating and Ice Dance : Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 06 April 2010. Retrieved 06 April 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ a b Ice Dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White In Long Term Parternship – Figure Skating News
- ^ Belbin and Agosto Capture Ice Dancing Bronze Medal
- ^ Helene Elliott (2009-02-06). "Meryl Davis, Charlie White skate to an upset victory". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ BARNAS, JO-ANN (December 4, 2009). "U-M students win ice dance gold medal". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- Mittan, Barry (July 15, 2004). "Davis and White in Long Term Partnership". Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- Davis & White at U.S. Figure Skating (archived)
- Davis & White at the International Skating Union
- [1] Davis-White's Bollywood-style OD a hit in India
External links
- Official website
- Davis/Athletes/figureskating Meryl-davis at Team USA (archived)
