Olympic ice dance champions stop short of saying they're retiring

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Posted 6/6/14 by icenetwork
Known for their tireless work ethic, Meryl Davis and Charlie White have earned some well-deserved time off. -Getty Images

One of the most frequently asked questions of this skating offseason has been answered -- sort of.

Olympic ice dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White announced they will not compete next season but are leaving their options open for a return to competition in the future.

"We've decided not to look too far ahead regarding our competitive careers. We'll be taking the 2014-15 season away from competition. We will not make any further decisions until a later date," Davis and White said in a U.S. Figure Skating press release.

In addition to being the first U.S. ice dance team to win the Olympic gold medal, Davis and White are six-time U.S. champions and two-time world champions. They have won their last 12 competitions, a streak that dates back to the beginning of the 2012-13 season.

Since topping the Olympic podium in Sochi in February, the duo has kept quite busy. They headlined the Stars on Ice tour and were contestants on season 18 of Dancing with the Stars, which Davis won. (White was eliminated in the semifinals.)

"We're so grateful for the support we've received through this truly amazing year in our lives," Davis and White said.

Based on what Davis told icenetwork in an April 21 article, she and White will continue to perform in shows.

"I think that Charlie and I are definitely both excited to be able to take what we've learned (on Dancing with the Stars) back to the ice," she said. "Approaching the shows this summer, I feel we have so much in our repertoire now to work that we're really excited to see what we can do on the ice."

With Davis and White's absence, the world landscape in ice dance will look very different next season. Olympic bronze medalists Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia split up and are skating with new partners. France's Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat, the fourth-place finishers at the Olympics, retired.

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have not made a formal announcement regarding their future, although it is widely believed the runners-up in Sochi will at least take time off, if not retire altogether.