The 2007 World podium looked the same as it did last year in Calgary, with Bulgarians Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski winning the gold and Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon winning the silver. But behind the top spots, there were changes. Five of the top 10 teams were from North America, and three were from the United States. Meryl Davis & Charlie White finished a strong seventh in their first World Championships on the senior level, and Melissa Gregory & Denis Petukhov placed 10th.

For Belbin & Agosto, a twizzle problem and an extended lift could have spelled trouble. With the top five teams so close together, even the smallest mistake could make the difference. However, the four-time U.S. champion’s strong skating, high levels and impressive interpretation kept them on the podium.

“We felt really nice here all week, very happy to be almost finished with the season, and very calm,” Belbin said. “I think that the rollercoaster is finally at a stop, and we’re looking forward to having a nice summer to train and to finally get our basic skating to another level. I really expect more from us in the future, and I think we can really step it up from this point forward, so we ask our fans to stand by us as we push forward.”

Davis & White scored their personal best in the free dance to finish seventh. It was the highest debut for an American ice dancing team at the World Championships since Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert finished sixth in 1980. In fact, Belbin & Agosto finished 17th at their first Worlds appearance in 2001. Also notable was the fact that Davis & White had the highest technical score among the American teams.

“It’s a world of difference (between juniors and seniors) really, the amount of excitement that goes with it after being junior so long,” Davis said. “Moving up to this level is all new for us, so it’s just so exciting and motivating for us to push our careers.”

Gregory & Petukhov donned new costumes for their “Adam and Eve” free dance, which was only marred by a slight glitch right before the twizzles. They were ninth at Worlds last year, and although they matched that placing in the free dance, they fell one spot overall to 10th.

“Obviously we would be happier if we were higher, but we can only control how we skate,” Gregory said.

With Belbin and Agosto’s third-place finish, and the seventh-place finish of Davis & White, the United States once again earned the right to send three ice dancing teams to Worlds next year.

The World Championships continue Friday with the ladies short program.

– U.S. Figure Skating –
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of approximately 1,450 member clubs and Basic Skills programs representing nearly 200,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States, including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.