SOCHI — Meryl Davis and Charlie White stormed into the lead of the Sochi Olympic ice dance with a captivating foxtrot that gave the Americans a narrow lead over Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
Davis and White enchanted the Iceberg Skating Palace judges on Sunday with their short dance to "My Fair Lady" for a record score of 78.89 and a shot of going one better than their Vancouver 2010 silver medal.
The pair they lost to four years ago, Virtue and Moir, put on a radiant "Dream a Little Dream" finger-snapper that earned 76.33 to leave Monday's free dance as likely a two-way shootout between the perennial rivals.
Looking to spoil the party are two Russian couples who helped their country to team gold earlier in the Games and lie third and fourth.
Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov got the biggest roar of the night for their performance to a Yiddish song that garnered 73.04. And Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Soloviev, the world bronze medalists, scored 69.97 with their dance to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" by Jule Styne.
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