Virtue, Moir Win Second Olympic Ice Dance Gold with World Record

Virtue, Moir Win Second Olympic Ice Dance Gold with World Record
Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir react after their performance at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/John Sibley)
Reuters
2/19/2018
Updated:
2/20/2018
GANGNEUNG, South Korea—Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and ScottMoir claimed their second Olympic gold medal with a brilliant free dance on Tuesday, edging to the top of the podium by less than a point and breaking the world record.

Skating last to “Moulin Rouge,” the pair embraced and grinned on the ice after their dynamic performance that had the audience roaring.

Gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada, silver medallists Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis of France, and bronze medallists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. celebrate on the podium during the victory ceremony of ice dance free dance competition during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. (Reuters/John Sibley)
Gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada, silver medallists Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis of France, and bronze medallists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. celebrate on the podium during the victory ceremony of ice dance free dance competition during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. (Reuters/John Sibley)

They won with a total score of 206.07, eclipsing the world record that had been set just moments before by French pair Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who finished on 205.28.

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir react after their performance at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir react after their performance at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

The Canadian pair, who won gold in Vancouver eight years ago, have dominated the event since they returned to competition after retiring following a silver at the Sochi Games four years ago.

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

They made a comeback late in 2016 and powered to a number of world records with only one defeat along the way.

That loss, in the Grand Prix Final in Japan last December, was to Papadakis and Cizeron, who struggled in their short program on Monday after the top of Papadakis’s costume came loose.

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir react after their performance at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir react after their performance at the ice dance free dance competitions during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2018. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

The pair’s ethereal free dance had the audience at the Gangneung Ice Arena clapping and set a new world record for both the free skate—they scored 123.35 and topped the Canadians—and the total score.

Virtue and Moir broke that record fewer than 15 minutes later, when they scored 122.40 in the free program, having taken a 1.74-point lead from the short skate.

American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, known as the “Shib Sibs”, won bronze after entering the free dance in fourth. They finished on 192.59.

Reporting by Elaine Lies and Rory Carroll.
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