CANADA TAKES ICE SKATING GOLD IN MOMENT TO REMEMBER

In front of a packed Pacific Coliseum, filled with thousands of their countrymen and hundreds of Canadian flags, it took about four minutes Monday for the ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to make history. With breathtaking, seamless moves that made them appear to be floating, Virtue, 20, and Moir, 22, won the free dance to clinch the first gold medal in ice dancing for a non-European team. As they waited for the scores, cheers of “Can-a-da!” filled the arena. And when their scores appeared, both crowd and the couple were pleased. Virtue and Moir received 110.42 points for their effort, more than 6 points better than their season’s best. Their final score was 221.57. Coming into this event, Russians had won all but two Olympic gold medals in this sport since its Winter Games debut in 1976. But on Monday, the North Americans took over. The American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White, two juniors at the University of Michigan, won the silver, with 107.19 points in the free dance and 215.74 points over all. (NY Times)