White, Davis win second Skate America ice dance title

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Reigning world ice dancing champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States earned a standing ovation and also accumulated five perfect marks of 10 while winning their second consecutive Skate America ice dancing gold medal at the Citizens Business Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Davis and White, skating elegantly to music from the Johann Strauss piece ‘Die Fledermaus,’ evoked the atmosphere of a Viennese ballroom in the 19th century as they floated across the ice and scored a commanding win with 178.07 points.

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France, who performed an Egyptian-themed free dance to music called ‘The Pharaoh and His Mummy,’ were far behind with 156.29 points. Bourzat, who could barely catch his breath in between coughing spells, said he was going straight to a doctor after receiving his medal.

Isabella Tobias and Deividas Stagniunas of Lithuania, who received an invitation to the event only two weeks ago after a Russian couple withdrew because of illness, moved up from fifth place after the short dance to take the bronze medal. Tobias is originally from New York and is a trained ballet dancer.

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