Meryl Davis and Charlie White won America's hearts in February, as the dazzling ice-dancing duo took home the gold at the Sochi Olympics. And the excitement didn't stop there. Here, in this conversation with TODAY.com for our series "2014 Voices," they reflect on their most memorable year yet, their first-ever break from competition, and share their hopes for 2015.
Meryl Davis: It’s been a pretty crazy year to wrap our heads around — winning the Olympics, doing "Dancing with the Stars," Charlie got engaged — I mean, some pretty big life occasions...It has been a year to remember, that’s for sure!
On the surprising highlight of the year
Charlie White: Obviously, you know, winning the Olympics, and you only get there if you skate your best. But just being able, for our entire career, to train as hard as we can and have it come to fruition when it counted most — all the little things, the practices, our attitudes, we were injury-free. All the little things that happen away from the public eye. It’s not just the moment of us taking the ice. We worked really hard to make sure everything went correctly, and it did. We’re really proud of that, too.
On what it was like to come back from the high of winning the gold in Sochi
MD: We had an interesting transition out of the Olympics. A lot of athletes, especially at the Olympic games, talk about that post-Olympic slump. The Olympics is sort of the pinnacle of sport, and, for all of us, it’s what we look forward to for years and years, if not our entire lives. So after the Olympics, there’s always a little bit of a downward slope, just kind of getting over that momentum no longer being a part of your life. For us it was definitely interesting, transitioning directly into "Dancing with the Stars," because it was kind of just another high, another amazing experience that we’ll always remember. I think after "Dancing" was a really interesting transition to get back into our lives at home.
CW: [Coming home] was very nice, but it felt different, because we had for so long associated home with preparation. The Olympics were just very single-minded, and when we got home, we were finally able to enjoy everything else besides just trying to sleep and eat. We're very fortunate to live near our families, so we were able to take advantage of spending time with them. And then just getting out and enjoying different things.
MD: I think the strangest thing for us is that we’re not competing, so our day-to-day lives are different...It's funny, when you’re in something your entire life, it's hard to know yourself outside of that. I always had a lot of ambitions outside of skating, and for the last two years I’d come home and tell my parents, "I’m so tired all the time. I don’t have the desire to get out and do other things." That really became the way I saw myself: I skated and I trained, and then I rested and recovered. So while I used to sit at home and recover and just read and watch TV, now I just can’t sit down! It’s definitely a different place to be in.
CW: We’re so used to feeling compulsively like we have to go to bed at a certain time, and obviously we used to have to get up a lot earlier and train throughout the whole day. It was a completely different lifestyle. It’s a very one-track mind, being a competitive Olympic athlete, whereas now we’re all over the place. We’re thinking about 10 different things and we can’t keep track of where we are or what day it is.
On what life is like with their new, higher profile
MD: It’s harder [to blend in] when we’re at home. I think that Detroit really embraced us, which we are so grateful for. But definitely when we’re at home there’s less anonymity, especially when we’re in Ann Arbor, which is where we go to school, at the University of Michigan. And the university really supported us and embraced us as students, so I think when we’re on campus, we’re very recognized.
CW: I think we’re more used to it now just generally because, especially coming right off the Olympics, we were very recognized because you are very recognized all over the place. But it’s weird when you’re on campus, just because we feel like we’re fellow students, and yet we feel slightly detached. But we love it there so much and it really is a special place.
MD: Sometimes when I run out for breakfast in the morning and I don’t feel like putting makeup on, I’m like, "Hmmm, someone might ask me to take a picture. This is unacceptable!" [Laughs.] But we’re really grateful for the support that we've received, especially in the Detroit area, and all over. We both went to Hawaii for vacation (separately, but to the same island) and I was shocked at the amount of people who had watched the Olympics and who were into skating. Being embraced by your country as an Olympian is one of the greatest honors and it’s such a special feeling. We put so much work into what it is that we do, that to have that reception is really, really special.
On how they'll remember 2014
CW: It’s definitely the most special year by a lot, so far. But having said that, I think it’s also set us up in such a way as to be able to enjoy every minute, and I don’t think that we’re going to be looking back and yearning for 2014 again. It’s special for what it was, but we’re ready to move forward as well.
On what's next for them in 2015
CW: Well, I’m getting married! That’s going really well, mostly because my fiancée is super and she’s on top of things. She has a great eye for detail and she knows what looks good. I am participating, but I’m more of a passive participant. But it’s coming together really nicely. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
MD: We’re doing some skating shows, we’re both going to try and finish up our degrees eventually…
CW: Next year we’ll be on ‘Stars on Ice’ in Japan and the U.S.
CW: What we have been able to enjoy more is hanging out with our families, being able to spend more time with them, and not feeling like we should be sleeping or mentally preparing for practice, just enjoying their company. We just wouldn’t be where we are without them, and to be able to show them how much we care, being there emotionally and physically — not just like, "Hey, thanks so much, gotta go" — that’s been really nice, and a big change.
On what they've been doing in their time "off" (they are not competing in the 2014-2015 season)
CW: We’re able to enjoy it. I mean, we are going to be accomplishing a lot — our plates are already pretty much full. But we’ve got a lot of great opportunities that we’re looking forward to. I don’t think we feel like we are missing out on anything quite yet.
Find more of TODAY's "2014 Voices" here.
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