Virtue, Moir make successful return to competition
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were all smiles after their first competitive skate in more than two and half years.
The Canadian ice dance duo skated in their first meet since taking silver at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia on Thursday night at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe.
The two are looking to recapture the form that made them the darlings of the 2010 Vancouver Games, where they won a gold medal.
“Today was all about how much we miss it in so many ways,” said Moir, of Ilderton, Ont. “There was a bit of the jitters, but backstage and during warm-up we were enjoying ourselves.
“That’s a big part of why we came back. We love to compete. What’s surprised me is how much we still enjoy it and we’re hoping we can keep that way all the way through to Korea (the 2018 Olympics). We want to enjoy every second, even the high pressure situations like this.”
They were near-flawless in their short dance, posting the top score of 77.72 points, well ahead of the next pair. Denmark’s Laurence Fournier-Baudry and Nikolaj Sorensen were second among the nine duos with 63.26. The free dance is set for Saturday.
“We’ll have to be stronger in some of our technical points moving forward, but we’re perfectionists,” said Moir, calling the performance “a home run for us.”
The challenger event drew a strong field but is a level below grand prix competitions.