Turin, Italy ? Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto were still on the ice long after getting their silver medals. They posed for pictures, clowned for the crowd, waved the flag and tried to thank every fan who showed up to cheer them.

After all, they were the first American ice dancers in 30 years with a medal to celebrate.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Agosto said Monday night, wearing a smile that looked as if it would never come off. “We really feel this medal belongs to a lot of people who put in years and years of support. And for the teams that came before us and put in years of dedication building the sport of ice dancing in the U.S.

“It is hard to put into words. It is really wonderful.”

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov gave Russia another figure-skating gold medal, making it three in three events and continuing that country’s long success in dance. Since it was added in 1976, a Russian or Soviet couple has won all but two of the golds in the event.

With Navka and Kostomarov on the verge of retirement, though, that dynasty could be coming to an end.

And Belbin and Agosto hold the promise of a new one.

“I know for a fact it will not take another 30 years,” Belbin said emphatically. “Anyone who was fortunate to witness our U.S. nationals, you would be so impressed with the level of ice dancing in the United States. I think it will be less time for more medals for the U.S.”

Belbin and Agosto finished with 196.06 points, 4.58 points behind Navka and Kostomarov. Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov of Ukraine were third.

Americans Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov were 14th, and Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O’Meara finished 16th.

“We’re very grateful for everyone who helped us come this far,” Belbin said. “There was a lot riding on our shoulders, and now we can come out and say it’s worth it.”

Americans have been about as good in ice dancing as Jamaicans in bobsled. They hadn’t won a medal since Colleen O’Connor and Jim Millns took the bronze back in 1976 – more than a half-decade before Belbin or Agosto were born. Nobody even had a shot since the mid-1980s.

But Belbin and Agosto have shattered those ideas about American ice dancers having two left skates. Junior world champions in 2002, they won a silver medal at the senior level last year and established themselves as favorites for Turin.

Tanith Belbin, right, and Benjamin Agosto, of the United States during their free dance in the Ice Dancing final at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, Monday, Feb. 20, 2006. The pair won the silver medal.

There was one slight problem: the Canadian-born Belbin wasn’t eligible for the games.

Belbin moved to the Detroit area in 1998 to train with Agosto, but didn’t get her green card until 2002. A typical five-year wait for naturalization would have shut her out of these games, since only U.S. citizens can be on the Olympic team.

Congress took up her plight, though, and passed legislation that allowed her to take advantage of recent changes that shortened the naturalization process. She was sworn in Dec. 31, just in time to get a picture for her passport and a plane ticket to Italy.

Alpine skiing

Men’s giant slalom

Sestriere, Italy – Austria’s Benjamin Raich ended his 10-day struggle at the Olympics with a victory in the men’s giant slalom.

American Bode Miller, who was just 12th after the opening leg, tied for sixth in 2:36.06 with Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal after a red-hot second run.

Women’s super-G

San Sicario, Italy – Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister won her second gold medal of the Turin Games, and Janica Kostelic of Croatia became the most decorated woman in Olympic Alpine skiing history with a silver in the super-G.

Women’s hockey

Gold Medal

Canada 4, Finland 1

Bronze Medal

United States 4, Finland 0

Fifth Place

Germany 1, Russia 0, SO

Seventh Place

Switzerland 11, Italy 0

Turin, Italy – No more Swedish surprises. Hockey is Canada’s game, and their gold-medal victory was a fitting finale for the most dominant women’s team ever assembled.

The Canadians’ relentless forechecking, heady passing and sturdy defense were practically flawless in a game just as one-sided as every other in their 46-2 march through Italy.

In the bronze-medal game, the U.S. women hustled to loose pucks, finished their checks and showcased their superior talent, jumping to an early lead and dominating Finland.

Katie King scored two of her three goals in the first period to give the Americans a three-goal lead, and they glided to a 4-0 victory over Finland, playing in the third-place game they would’ve rather watched on TV from their dressing room.

Curling

Men

Pinerolo, Italy – Canada clinched the fourth and final spot in the medal round with a late rally that secured a victory over the U.S. in men’s curling.

The Americans (6-3) already had wrapped up a spot in the medal round.

Women

Pinerolo, Italy – Norway and Canada clinched the final two spots in the women’s curling medal round.

Ski jumping

Team Event

Pragelato, Italy – Thomas Morgenstern and Andreas Kofler carried over their success from the large-hill competition, leading Austria to the Olympic gold medal in the ski jumping team event.

Bobsled

Women’s two-man

Cesana, Italy – Shauna Rohbock got pushed aside four years ago, forced to stand at the finish line and cheer when Vonetta Flowers and the U.S. team slid to Olympic bobsled history.

Now, Rohbock is on the edge of making a little of her own.

Rohbock, who was replaced by Flowers just before the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and brakeman Valerie Fleming are in third place following the first two heats of women’s bobsled, trailing a pair of German sleds.

Freestyle skiing

Men’s aerials

Sauze d’Oulx, Italy – Jeret “Speedy” Peterson was the lone American of four to advance to finals in men’s aerials, a disappointing effort for a U.S. freestyle team considered one of the best in the world.