TEAM USA EARNS FIVE MEDALS IN SOCHI

2012 JGP and Grand Prix Final competition notes
2012 JGP and Grand Prix Final icenetwork.com event page

Meryl Davis & Charlie White (Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr.)

(12/8/12) - Team USA added three medals today as events concluded from the 2012 Grand Prix Final and 2012 Junior Grand Prix Final. Ashley Wagner earned silver today for her first Grand Prix Final medal, while Meryl Davis and Charlie White made history as they became the first ice dance team in history to win four Grand Prix Final titles.

Davis and White skated their best performances of the season in Sochi to total a season-high 183.39 points. Their "Notre-Dame" free dance, that White called "fantastic," was highlighted by an array of level 4 elements including one spin, four lifts and the twizzle sequence. They earned 110.19 points for the segment.

White continued, "Emotionally, technically, we really put it all out there. I'm proud of the way we fought through it. It’s a great step to help us build toward winning Worlds."

Russian President Vladmir Putin was on hand to watch the free dance, a fact that Davis and White were aware of but tried to push to the back of their minds before the skate.

"The ice, the atmosphere and the crowd were fantastic," Davis said. "We heard (Russian President) Putin was in the audience which is really exciting. When you hear about important people in the audience, it's not something you try to focus on

ELEVEN U.S. ATHLETES TO COMPETE AT 2012 JUNIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL AND GRAND PRIX FINAL

Eleven U.S. athletes will compete at the 2012 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and Junior Grand Prix (JGP) Final this week in Sochi, Russia.

All competition will take place at the Iceberg Skating Palace, the official competition venue of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Competition begins Thursday with all four junior disciplines taking the ice, while senior events begin Friday.

NBC will broadcast the Grand Prix Final ladies and men's free skates from 1-3 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Dec. 9. Universal Sports will provide additional coverage of the singles, pairs and dance events throughout the weekend. Terry Gannon, Michael Weiss and Tara Lipinski make up NBC's announce team.

Icenetwork.com will provide news, photos and more from the event. On-demand video of the JGP Final and Grand Prix Final will be available to Season