‘We want to win this competition’
Osmond, Virtue/Moir lead after short programs at Skate Canada International
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir channelled their inner Mick Jagger, while Canadian teammate Kaetlyn Osmond picked up right where she left off.
Virtue and Moir posted a world-record score in the short program and are poised to capture their seventh Skate Canada International title to kick off their final competitive season, while Osmond reeled off three huge triple jumps Friday for a seven-point lead in women’s singles.
“We don’t have a choice. We want to win this competition, we knew we had to post a score like that in order to be on top,’’ Moir said.
Canada’s Olympic gold and silver medallists posted 82.68 points, topping their previous world best of 82.43 they set in winning the world championships last spring. Kaitlyn Weaver of Toronto and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., were second with 77.47, while Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were third (76.08).
Three-time world champion Patrick Chan trails Japan’s Shoma Uno by nine points after the men’s short program.
Virtue and Moir opened to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,’’ Moir thrusting out his chest, and swivelling his hips in Jagger fashion to the delight of the Brandt Centre crowd.
“Is it easy for anyone to channel Mick Jagger?’’ said Moir, the neck of his black shirt cut nearly to his navel.
“He does it well though, doesn’t he?’’ Virtue chimed in.
She joked with reporters about the swath of glittering jewels on her sheer, animal print dress, saying “Hopefully we don’t blind you guys.’’
Their energetic program shifted to a rhumba-mixed “Hotel California’’ by the Eagles, and by the time they’d struck their final dramatic pose to Santana’s “Oye Como Va,’’ the crowd was on its feet.
“It’s certainly rewarding, we’ve been working so hard technically,’’ said the 28-yearold
Virtue, from London, Ont. “It gave us the freedom to add some different expression and bring some fresh energy to the actual performance, which we always love, to bring some spontaneity. At this point in the year, when we’ve been working on the same thing over and over and over again, it makes it extra fun when you know you have a solid base to work from.’’
Virtue and the 30-year-old Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., have made a stunning return to competition after a two-year hiatus, going undefeated thus far in
their comeback.
“It’s our last (Skate Canada), and we’re really taking it in,’’ Moir said. “It’s funny, in 2014 (Sochi Olympic season), we really tried not to be too sentimental. This year we’re really just soaking it all in as much as we can.’’
Osmond, meanwhile, is riding a remarkable comeback of her own. She takes a personal-best 76.06 points into Saturday’s long program. Anna Pogorilaya is second with 69.05, while Russian teammate Maria Sotskova scored 66.10 for third.