Rival Ice Dancing Teams Advance to Finals

A long rivalry is set to advance in Sochi after the top ice dancing duos from both Canada and the United States advanced to the finals on Saturday. The American team, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, won the short dance event in last week's team competition and came in first again in Sunday's short dance. They will compete for the gold in Monday's free skate.

Davis and White won the silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, coming in second to longtime Canadian rivals Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. That duo, who came in second place on Sunday, also lost the team event to Davis and White. But this isn't just any rivalry: the American and Canadian duos share a coach, and all four skaters train together at the same Michigan facility. In fact, they seem to switch off event victories: not only were the now-leading Americans behind the American team in Vancouver, but the world championships have flip-flopped between the duos each of the last four years.

Coming in third place in Sunday's short ice dance competition were Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov. The U.S. will also be sending two more pairs to Monday's free skate: Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who came in eighth, and Maia and Alex Shibutani, who placed ninth. But they're not likely to win gold. That honor, of course, is expected to go to either their American compatriots or their neighbors up north.

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