Ailing Bourzat, Pechalat win ice dance silver

Ailing French ice dancer Fabian Bourzat called his free dance with Nathalie Pechalat a "nightmare," but he was rewarded for his perseverance with a Skate America silver medal. Bourzat, battling bronchitis, doubled over in exhaustion as soon as he and Pechalat completed their free dance inspired by ancient Egypt -- with him in the role of Pharoah and her a mummy in gauzy trailing bandages. "It was a nightmare for me, but we made it through the end without any major mistakes," he said between coughing fits. "I will go to the doctor and then take some rest." On the advice of their coaches, the two throttled back a little on the performance, treating it more like an exhibition and trying to keep it smooth and error-free. It paid off, although their runner-up total of 156.29 points was well behind the 178.07 of gold medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States. Under the circumstances, Pechalat said, they were pleased with their result in the first stop in the ISU figure skating Grand Prix. Overall this season, she said, their focus will be on defending their European title and on the 2012 world championships, which will be on home ice in Nice. "Before going onto the ice, we said, ‘OK. We have time until the European and World Championships. So, what will happen will happen,'" she said.