Steve Mesler savoured Winter Olympics ecstasy as he celebrated winning the four-man bobsleigh gold at Vancouver's Whistler Park.

Lining up alongside fellow crewmen Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen and Curtis Tomasevicz, the 31-year-old from Buffalo overcame the German 1 team by 0.38 seconds over four rounds to ensure USA's first four-man bobsleigh gold in 62 years in a total time of 3: 24:36.

American student Charlie White took silver in the figure skating free dance at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

White, 22, paired up with Meryl Davis put in an eye-catching display on Day 11 at the Pacific Coliseum.

It could have been even better for the duo who showed incredible speed on the ice but they received a one-point deduction for exceeding the time limit on one of their lifts.

White said: “We're so proud of what we were able to do out there, to come so prepared and be able, under the pressure of the Olympics, skate three amazing programs is such a joy.”

Skier Michael Renzhin finished a disappointing 55th in the men's giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Crossing the tape in a combined time of 2:53:81, the Israeli finished nearly 16 seconds behind champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland. America's Bode Miller, who has already won three golds, was eliminated from contention after skiing off-course during his first run.

Laura Spector raced the final leg for the USA in the women's 4x6 biathlon relay, but was unable to prevent the team finishing a disappointing 17th, out of an entry of 19.

Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky's moving free dance in last night's ice dancing was not enough to win them an Olympic medal.

The brother and sister pair gained an impressive 90 points as they performed to music from Schindler's List, which saw them finish a highly respectable 10th.

The music was chosen, in part, as a remembrance to 27 members of their family that died in Minsk, Belarus during World War II.

“It’s very important to us,” said Roman Zaretsky. “We grew up with this every year, the memory of Yom Hashoah.” The pair made aliyah from Minsk in the early1990s.

Israel's ice dancing team at the Winter Olympics are in 10th place following the first two rounds of the figure skating in Vancouver.

Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky, who performed a tango on Friday night in which they gained a score of 34.38, performed ‘Hava Nagilla’ in last night's original dance, scoring 55 points.

They are 15 points off the medals, going into tonight’s final round, in which they will dance to music from Schindler's List for their free dance routine.

Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who is Jewish, are in fourth place.

Ravenswood resident Lawrence Black has been selected for the British team for the Special Olympics European Games in Poland in September.

The 56-year-old will compete in the shot put, 50 metres sprint and 400 metres walk and will be hoping to add to the two silvers and a bronze won at the national Special Olympics last year.

Team GB's AJ Rosen finished 16th in the men's singles luge at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Going into the fourth and final run in 15th, Rosen, 25, would have made history as the highest placed British slider in the luge in Olympics history. But he missed out after going round the course in 48.856 seconds. His 16th place finish equalled his performance at the Turin Olympics four years ago.

“There have been some ups and downs, but overall I'm really happy with my performance. “The times are so close between the sliders, it was just fractions of a second.”

Three Israeli athletes are gearing up for the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday, hoping this will be the year the country finally wins a medal.

But Tamar Katz, a 22-year-old figure skater and three-time Israeli champion, has not qualified, despite meeting the standards set by the Winter Olympics committee.

Controversially, the Israeli Olympic Committee decided not to send her because she did not finish in the top 14 at the World Championships held in Spokane, Washington.

Israel is investing £8 million on an Olympics squad that will make the 2012 Games the country’s best-ever, pledges the man who will make it happen.

Efraim Zinger, the Secretary-General of the Olympic Committee of Israel says he hopes to take at least 40 athletes to London.

Zinger believes that the nation’s best hopes of silverware will come in judo, wind-surfing and gymnastics.