Meryl Davis and Charlie White [SPOILER] in ice dancing final

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Meryl Davis and Charlie White danced their way to a world-record score in their free dance program Monday, beating out the field to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Davis and White scored a 116.63 performing their routine to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, beating out Canadian duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won over their American training partners four years ago in Vancouver.

Davis and White, both of Royal Oak, Mich., came into Monday's free dance with a nearly insurmountable lead of 2.56 points over the Canadians, after turning out a world-record score of 78.89 in Sunday's short program.

Virtue and Moir, who plan to retire following the Sochi Games, skated a season-best 114.66, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Americans' lead.

Russians Elena Bobrova and Nikita Katsalapov took home bronze with a crowd-pleasing routine in front of the home audience.

But in the end, Davis and White, partners since before their 10th birthdays, have distanced themselves from the competition. They came into Sochi as the overwhelming favorites, and leave dominant masters of their sport.