Virtue, Moir win ice dance for 3rd career Olympic gold medal
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were the last couple to leave the ice after their warmup early Tuesday, the Canadian ice dancers soaking in every second before their final Olympic performance.
They sure made memorable one.
After watching their training partners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron break the world record with a flawless free skate, Virtue and Moir took the ice one last time with a dazzling, dramatic interpretation of “Moulin Rouge.” Every movement was synchronized, every element raw and emotional, and the only question left at the end was whether it would be enough.
They wound up with a personal-best 122.40 points for a record 206.07 total, pushing them past their French rivals’ score of 205.28 and making them the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.
It was the second gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games for Virtue and Moir, who were instrumental in helping Canada win the team event . It was also it a their third gold overall after winning their home Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, and their fifth medal overall after two silvers at the Sochi Games four years ago.
They retired for two years after that disappointment, content with their place in history, only to decide a couple years ago to make one more run at Olympic glory.
They finished it off exactly how they had imagined.
“It definitely feels like we are close to the end of our career, and we are very proud of this,” Moir said. “We came back to win the second gold medal, that was the goal.
“This was a very intense competition and we’re happy the way things turned out for us. We have the greatest respect for (the French team) and they skated so well, and they push us to be at our best.”
Their medal total broke a tie with Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko and Sweden’s Gillis Grafstrom for the most in Olympic figure skating, and their golden haul matched the record shared by Grafstrom, Sonja Henie of Norway and Irina Rodnina of the Soviet Union.
“We were able to rely on our team and our coaches and training, and just go out there and savor it,” Virtue said.
American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani won the bronze medal with a nearflawless free skate that totaled 192.59 points, edging teammates Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue by just under five points.
“This was the most incredible moment for us today,” Maia Shibutani said. “We did four performances on Olympic ice we can be so proud of, and we got two Olympic medals (including the team). We did it for ourselves and Team USA and everyone who supported us.”
USA beats Slovakia to advance in men’s hockey
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Ryan Donato scored two goals, Troy Terry had three assists and the United States beat Slovakia 5-1 in the qualification round Tuesday to advance to face the Czech Republic in the Olympic quarterfinals.
College kids again led the way for the U.S., which scored more against Slovakia then it did in all three preliminary-round games. James Wisniewski, Mark Arcobello and Garrett Roe also scored for the Americans, who took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play for hits on Donato and goaltender Ryan Zapolski.
Shaking off a collision with Ladislav Nagy, Ryan Zapolski had arguably his best game of the tournament, stopping 21 of the 22 shots he faced. Zapolski and the U.S. also beat Slovakia 2-1 in the preliminary round when Donato scored twice. With his second twogoal game, Donato equaled his father, Ted, who scored four goals for the U.S. at the 1992 Games in Albertville.
Slovakia goaltender Jan Laco allowed five goals on 33 shots and Peter Ceresnak scored a power-play goal for Slovakia, which became the first team eliminated from the men’s side.
After a listless first period with no goals and few scoring chances, the U.S. wasted little time getting on the board early in the second. Terry, as he has done all Olympics, used his speed to get to the net, and Donato picked up the loose puck and beat Laco 1:36 into the period.
The Americans got not one but two scares 26 seconds later when Nagy ran over Zapolski and Slovakia defenseman Michal Cajovsky put a shoulder into Donato’s head in the neutral zone.
Canada’s Sharpe soars in women’s freestyle halfpipe
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Cassie Sharpe put on a show in the women’s freestyle halfpipe final on Tuesday, soaring to a 95.80 during her second run to give Canada its first Olympic medal in the event pioneered by the late Canadian star Sarah Burke.
Sharpe topped qualifying on Monday with a pair of big runs and went even higher in the finals. Her winning run included a 1080-degree spin and the kind of air the rest of the 12-woman field simply couldn’t match.
France’s Marie Martinod added a second silver to go with the one she captured in Sochi four years ago when the sport made its Olympic debut. Martinod scored 92.60 on her second run but fell during her third to assure Sharpe of the gold.
American Brita Sigourney edged teammate Annalisa Drew for bronze. Drew scored 90.80 on her final run to slip past Sigourney only to have Sigourney, the next skier down, put up a 91.80.
Defending Olympic champion Maddie Bowman of the United States fell on the final hit during each of her three runs in the finals.
Burke helped pave the way for halfpipe to reach the Olympics, winning four X Games in the event. She died in 2012 following complications from a training fall in Park City, Utah.
Sharpe is among a group of skiers carrying on Burke’s legacy. The group includes Martinod, who was considering retirement before the sport became part of the Olympic program. Burke talked her out of it, saying Martinod needed to help show the world what freestyle halfpipe skiing was all about.
Martinod, at 33 the oldest skier in the field, threw down a pair of stylish runs to put pressure on Sharpe. When she bailed midway through her final run, assuring Sharpe of gold, she laughed and raised her hands. She celebrated her second Olympic medal with her 8-year-old daughter.