FIGURE SKATING: Being in the spotlight is what Danielle O’Brien and Greg Merriman do best, but the bright lights of the Olympics have taken the dynamic duo a little getting used to.

“The main rink is almost daunting,” O’Brien said after her first training session at the Iceberg Skating Palace earlier this week. 

“Stepping out into the arena - the lights are bright and getting your bearings is a big factor. We managed that well today. Sometimes we have some problems when we get into big arenas.”

Merriman explained that the pair don’t often have the opportunity to compete in big arenas.

“Unfortunately for us and a few of the lower ranked countries, we don’t get to do as many competitions on the big rinks like this,” he said. 

“The more experienced teams get to do two or three competitions in big arenas like this. That is the reason why we went and competed at the Four Continents in Taipei, to compete in a decent sized arena, just to catch those bearings again.”

Bearings are extremely important in the precision sport of Ice Dancing. With every second of their routine perfectly choreographed to music, it is vital to not miss a step.

“When you are training in a small rink, the wall might be two metres behind the edge of the rink, but here it just goes and goes,” O’Brien said on Saturday.

“At home we train on rinks with hockey lines so we use them as markers. In the past year, we have learned to get our bearings with the feeling of our bodies instead of visual awareness. It’s much easier to rely on because we do the same thing with our bodies no matter where we are.”

In Sochi for a week now, the pair feel they are ready to compete.

"We had our final official practice this morning with the judges and costumes and it went really well,” O’Brien said.

“We’ve done a lot of training and today it felt so natural to be out there. We’ve got our bearings and we’ve worked hard so we are not leaving anything up to chance.

“My whole family was at training today and that was amazing. My mum hasn’t seen me compete internationally since my first junior competition, so to have her here is so special.

”The road to these Olympics for O’Brien and Merriman has been a long and challenging one. The pair were poised to make their Olympic debut in 2010 when Merriman was struck down with a serious heart condition that prevented them from qualification.

Four years, a move to Detroit and a heck of a lot of hard work and sacrifice later, and they have made it.

“I woke up this morning and I thought we were competing today,” O’Brien said with a laugh.

“I was so nervous but then the excitement set in. 

“Now we just need to draw in the focus and enjoy it. We want to focus on having fun. Regardless of what happens with our results we just want to enjoy every minute of it.”

When it comes to the medals, it is set to be a North American battle for gold and silver. Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA will face off with their biggest rivals – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.

Virtue and Moir thrilled a home crowd when they took the gold at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. If they manage the same feat in Russia, they will be just the second pair to win back to back Ice Dancing gold medals, after Russian skaters Pasha Grishuk and Yevgeni Platov achieved this in 1994/1998.

Hoping to stand in their way is the American duo of Davis and White. The silver medallists in Vancouver, Davis and White are the current World Champions and have won an astounding 14 of the last 20 Championships contested in this event.

If they were to win, it would be the first figure skating gold for the US in the event. Indeed it would be the first in any event other than ladies’ individual. By winning any medal they would also be the first US ice dancers to win more than one Olympic medal in the event. 

Ice Dancing takes to the Olympic stage with the Short Dance on Sunday 16 February at 7pm Sochi time (2am AEDT Monday 17 February). O’Brien and Merriman will compete at 7.59pm Sochi time, (2.59am AEDT).