Tuesday, February 23, 2010

An Olympic Moment

I love the Olympics. Whenever they are on - summer or winter - I try to watch as much as I can. It's rather odd, as I'm not a sporty person. I always sucked at sports. I figure skated as a kid, but failed my second badge as I couldn't perform a certain manuever for the required amount of distance on the ice. Thus ended my Olympic dreams. Pity, as I would have been the perfect size for a pairs skater.

Every now and then, you come across a moment at the Olympics that really epitomizes what it's all about - the true Olympic spirit. Tonight was one of those nights. Tonight was the free dance segment of the ice dancing competition. The Canadian team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were in the leading heading into tonight's competion. Their closest rivals were the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Turns out the teams train together and are the best of friends. White and Davis skated first to the music of "Phantom of the Opera." They laid down the proverbial gauntlet and skated a fantastic routine. They received excellent marks, with a slight deduction as one of their lifts was too long (like anyone other than the judges would have caught that). Then came Virue and Moir. They were magical and skated flawlessly. The look on their faces at the end of their routine was priceless. He could be seen saying, "I love you so much" to her. Canada held its collective breath. Would their marks be enough to move them into first place with two teams left to skate? Yes!

CTV hypothesized that the two teams had performed so well that perhaps double gold medals might be in order. When it was all decided, Virtue and Moir were first, Davis and White, second and the Russian team of Domnina and Shabalin were third. It was a historic night as no North American team had ever won gold in ice dancing before. While being interviewed backstage after the win by CTV, Virtue and Moir were interupted by Davis and White who came by to say "Hi!" and then proceeded to hug, kiss, and congratulate them. They were genuinely happy for their rivals. Apparently at some point they said, "We're so proud of you." Wow. The feelings were reciprocated, as Moir told CTV that they were proud of Davis and White and, "without them... we wouldn't be here." During the medal presentation both teams were glowing and very excited with their medals. The skating and the conduct of all four skaters impressed me. After the medals had been handed out, the teams went for a victory skate. I felt slighly embarressed for the Russian team as they were the only team that didn't have a flag to skate with.

It's good to see that sometimes at the Olympics, the Olympic spirit does, indeed, shine through. Congratulations to both Virtue and Moir and Davis and White. All four of you are a credit to your families, your countries and your sport. I wish both teams well and I look forward to watching them skate for many years to come.