Virtue and Moir end careers with gold
Canadian ice dance stars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are ending their Olympic careers on top.
In what was likely their final competitive performance, Virtue and Moir captured a gold medal at the Pyeongchang Games after scoring 122.40 points in Tuesday’s free skate for a world-best combined score of 206.07. They had also won gold in the team event earlier in the Olympics.
Fans at the Gangneung Ice Arena roared during their steamy skate to music from Moulin Rouge and they were all smiles as they took what will likely be the final bows of their illustrious career.
France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron were second with a combined score of 205.28. American siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani finished third with a combined score of 192.59.
Virtue and Moir also won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics but settled for silver at the Sochi Games four years ago.
Virtue and Moir have said they will retire after Pyeongchang.
It wasn’t the only Canadian gold on Tuesday. Freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe set the early tone in the halfpipe and only got stronger on her way to a gold medal in her Olympic debut.
Sharpe, from Comox, delivered on all of her tricks for an opening score of 94.40. She topped that with a 95.80 in her second run.
France’s Marie Martinod had a 92.60 in her second run and was gunning for Sharpe in the third run but crashed out, guaranteeing Sharpe gold.
The best of three runs is a skier’s final score in ski halfpipe. Sharpe’s final run was a triumphant victory lap.
“It doesn’t feel real yet, but once I see my family and feel the love, it’ll sink in,” Sharpe said. “So much hard work has gone into this, I’m elated.”
American Brita Sigourney took third with a 91.60 in her final run. Calgary’s Roz Groe- newoud finished 10th with a score of 70.60.
In men’s curling, Kevin Koe scored a deuce in the third and sixth ends as Canada topped Japan 8-4.
Leading 6-4 after seven ends, Koe earned a single in the eighth and ninth, forcing Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi to shake hands early.
The win thrusts Koe (5-3) into a threeway tie for second with Britain and South Korea in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
The top four teams in the round robin advance to the semifinals, with Sweden’s Niklas Edin already qualified for the playoffs with a 7-1 record.
Canada’s men play Denmark on Wednesday in the final round-robin match for both teams.