Meryl Davis and Charlie White pose for their Dancing with the Stars promotional photos.
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| Davis and White with Steven Colbert |
Today marks exactly one month since Meryl Davis and Charlie White became the first U.S. team to capture the Olympic gold medal in ice dancing, and their lives have barely slowed since.
The duo has done its share of the media rounds, getting interviewed on the morning shows, such as TODAY (where White even played the violin), and also by the likes of Katie Couric and late-night comedian Stephen Colbert. They have held court with many of their sponsors, including meeting with executives and employees of Visa and Ralph Lauren. They met with students from Salem High School in their home state of Michigan, to help another sponsor, Kellogg’s, promote the importance of a healthy breakfast.
They have taken time out to chat with kids who have participated with them as part of “Classroom Champions,” graced the cover of US Weekly and even been honored by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder at the state capitol. As Snyder said during the festivities, “We couldn’t ask for better ambassadors for our state.”
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| Davis and White take a selfie with students at Salem High School |
They also were feted by the city of Canton, Mich., the Detroit suburb where they have trained for several years, and part of the celebration included people from their rink, Arctic Edge of Canton, who made presentations. According to news reports, hundreds of fans turned out in their honor.
And they hobnobbed with celebrities, rubbing elbows with the likes of Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, at various Academy Award parties, including one thrown by Elton John and another from Vanity Fair.
Tonight, however, they will take on their biggest media event when they perform in the two-hour season premiere of the TV hit, Dancing with the Stars. Instead of competing for a gold medal, the two will be after the mirror ball trophy, and for the first time during their 17-year partnership, Davis and White will be competing against each other.
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| Davis and White being honored by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder |
Davis is paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on the show, while White is teamed with Sharna Burgess. Although this is the first time either of the skaters is dancing on the show, this is not the first Dancing with the Stars connection for the skaters. The two worked with five-time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough on their “My Fair Lady” short dance, a routine which they won in Sochi en route to capturing the gold medal.
Now, after years of being at each other’s side, the two seem ready to compete against each other on the show. After the cast for the show was announced, Davis tweeted, “So excited to be 'Team M&M' with @MaksimC.” White then posted this tweet: “Don’t listen to @Meryl_ Davis! It’s all about team Shar-Char!!! @SharnaBurgess and I are ready to rock!”
Joining Davis and White in the dancing competition is snowboarder Amy Purdy, fresh off a bronze-medal performance in Sochi. Purdy, a double amputee who lost her legs after contracting bacterial meningitis, will be the show’s first U.S. Paralympic contestant. She is paired with Derek Hough, who traveled to Russia for the recent Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.
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| Davis and White with Stevie Nicks |
Team USA athletes have fared well on Dancing with the Stars as figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and gymnast Shawn Johnson — all Olympic champions —won on the show. Skater Evan Lysacek, the last U.S. figure skater to win gold, went from winning a gold medal in Vancouver to finish runner-up on the show.
Life will not slow down following Davis and White’s spin on Dancing with the Stars. Although their role on the dance floor led them to bow out of the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships, which begin next week in Japan, the two are scheduled to be back on the ice — yes, together — in all 20 performances of the national tour of Stars on Ice, which begins the third week of Dancing with the Stars.
Amy Rosewater is a freelance writer and editor for TeamUSA.org. A former sports reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, she has covered five Olympic Games. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today.
