Four University of Michigan students will break off into pairs and compete for gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics, which begins Friday, February 12 in Vancouver.  

Meryl Davis and Charlie White skate together in ice dancing, as do Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. Davis and White, juniors at U-M, secured their Olympic berth by winning the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and train at Arctic Edge in Canton, Michigan with their coaches, Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. Samuelson and Bates, sophomores at U-M, and who earned their ticket to Vancouver by taking third at this Olympic qualifying competition, train at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube with coaches Iouri Tchesnitchenko and Iaroslava Netchaeva. When not perfecting their dance routines on the ice, the four mix in other workout activities, such as ballet.

While these Wolverines have dedicated many years to honing their talents, the results of their Olympic event will be known just days after it begins. The compulsory dance takes place on Friday, February 19, followed by the original dance on Sunday, February 21, and the free dance on Monday, February 22.

NBC is televising the Winter Olympics, and is scheduled to offer primetime coverage of this popular sport, as well as speed skating, luge, alpine skiing, ice hockey, and more. View the full competition schedule. To find out more about Samuelson, Bates, Davis, and White, read an extensive profile of the foursome in the online edition of the University of Michigan publication, the University Record.  

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