GOLDEN HAT TRICK
Virtue and Moir win gold in ice dance, finishing with new world record
It was a golden day on the podium for Canada. Clockwise from above, Comox’s Cassie Sharpe celebrates her gold in halfpipe ski; Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir relish their gold in ice dance; and Summerland’s Justin Kripps, right, and London, Ont.’s Alex Kopacz took gold in two-man bobsled (they shared gold with the German team, which finished with an identical time.)
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had the crowd on their feet, some observers in tears and soon will have the gold medal as a memento of their final competitive skate together on Tuesday.
It was as close to perfection as they have come all year long. At the Olympics. Perfect timing.
They beat the French team of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who are also their training partners in Montreal. The French skated before the Canadians and scored a world record 123.35 points for a low-key, technically proficient free dance. It gave them a two-dance total of 205.28, another world record.
The Canadians finished with a new world record of 206.07.
The American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani were bronze medallists.
It was always going to take perfection to win the gold medal at these Games, and Moir has known it for ages.
“We want to get really close to a perfect scoresheet at the Olympic Games. That’s what we think we’ll need to be on top of the podium,” he said in January.
The 1.74-point lead that Virtue and Moir gained in the short dance simply held up. So the Canadians bid their sport adieu with two gold and a silver. The perfect way to go out.