Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canadian Olympic Committee)
There was a certain buzz here in London leading up to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Our hometown superstars, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, chosen to be the Canadian flag bearers for the opening ceremonies.
A tremendous honour, and a first for Canada. Never before had the flag been carried together between one man and one woman. What better pair to do it other than the duo that has skated together for 20 years.
Scott and Tessa came out of retirement for the 2018 Games with one thing on their minds: gold. After two silver medals at the 2014 Sochi Games from some questionable judging, Scott and Tessa knew they needed a change. They switched to former Canadian figure skating greats, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, and what a change it was.
“We couldn’t have done this without our coaches, they’ve been our rocks” Scott Moir said, “They made this comeback very special for us, we fell in love with the sport again.”
The ice dancing duo from London, Ontario set themselves apart from the competition with their passion and connection to one another. Records fell, crowds stood, and gold medals were awarded. After helping Canada win the team competition Tessa and Scott’s focus switched their final career competition, the ice dance.
The competition came down to a battle with their French rivals, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. The Canadians went in to the final portion of the Ice Dance needing more than perfection. The French set a record in the Free Skate (123.35) and another record in total score (205.28).
Scott and Tessa didn’t know they needed to beat a record, they just wanted to end their careers with a dance they would be happy with. Happiness achieved, a score of 122.40 pushing their total score to 206.07 to beat their French rivals and win the gold medal.
They left Pyeongchang as the most decorated figure skaters of all-time, and returned home to London as national heroes.
