The pressure at Gangneung Ice Arena was palpable. The world was watching. But in what was among the most memorable four minutes of the Pyeongchang Olympics, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir delivered the skate of their lives.
A world record total score, and a third gold medal that made the Canadian ice dance darlings the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history. Virtue and Moir perfectly executed a golden plan theysa国际传媒檇 announced sa国际传媒� to mixed reviews sa国际传媒� when theysa国际传媒檇 returned to the sport 18 months earlier.
sa国际传媒淲hen we announced our comeback, no one was happy, competitors, skaters, family, friends, even our governing body, everyone was surprised, because it was such a risk,sa国际传媒� Virtue said. sa国际传媒淢aybe because we believed in ourselves and believed in what we could pursue, we felt there was so much more to do.sa国际传媒�
On Friday, Virtue and Moir were rewarded for their historic comeback performance by winning the The Canadian Press team of the year award for 2018. The ice dancers picked up 39 of 54 votes (72.2 per cent) in a poll of writers, broadcasters and editors from across the country.
sa国际传媒淰irtue and Moir sa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 up there with Torvill and Dean now,sa国际传媒� said Wayne Chamberlain, sports editor of Postmediasa国际传媒檚 Editorial Services. sa国际传媒漈hey captivated a global audience with their swan song performance and made many a Canadian eye tear up.sa国际传媒�
The Canadian junior hockey team that won gold at the 2018 world junior championships in Buffalo was second with five of 54 votes (9.3 per cent), while Lavalsa国际传媒檚 football team that went undefeated and captured the Vanier Cup was third with four votes (7.4 per cent).
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sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 so incredible, I was looking back at the history of this (award) to get some perspective and just trying to understand how 10 months later people still seem to care, or remember us, and itsa国际传媒檚 a great moment to reflect,sa国际传媒� Virtue said. sa国际传媒漁f course itsa国际传媒檚 the end of the year, but 10 months after the Games, itsa国际传媒檚 a nice chance to just take a moment and reflect on the impact at the Olympics had across Canada.sa国际传媒�
Golfer Brooke Henderson captured the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award on Wednesday as the yearsa国际传媒檚 top female athlete, while freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury won the Lionel Conacher Award as the top male athlete on Thursday.
Partners for two decades, Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., had been melting hearts since they claimed gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games. They stepped away from the sport for two seasons after their silver in Sochi, returning with a single-minded focus of gold in South Korea.
WATCH: Moir says he cansa国际传媒檛 believe he and Virtue have Walk of Fame star
Virtue and Moir held a slim lead over Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France after the short dance, despite the fact Papadakis skated most of the program with the clasp of her dress broken.
The next night, when Papadakis and Cizeron recorded a world record in the free dance, Virtue and Moir were waiting in the wings fingers in ears. They purposely didnsa国际传媒檛 look at any television monitors.
Then Virtue, in a gauzy backless red dress, and Moir, channelling his inner Ewan McGregor, brought the crowd to its feet with their breathtaking performance to music from sa国际传媒淢oulin Rouge,sa国际传媒� a movie theysa国际传媒檇 loved ever since they saw it together as kids.
sa国际传媒淲e knew we were trained, we were fully confident in our preparation. We had never been in better shape mentally. We were laser focused,sa国际传媒� Virtue said. sa国际传媒淏ut that doesnsa国际传媒檛 take away the nerves and it certainly doesnsa国际传媒檛 take away the gravity of the pressure.
sa国际传媒淭here were so many times throughout that day, and especially that half an hour leading into our final skate, where Scott just looked at me and reminded me: sa国际传媒榊ou know, this is exactly what we asked for. This is what we wanted when we decided to come back to competition,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� a sa国际传媒榖ring it onsa国际传媒� sort of a thing. And it was terrifying and unsettling, daunting, and yet also really exhilarating.
sa国际传媒淭hat thrill of taking the ice on the worldsa国际传媒檚 biggest stage, the pressure mounting, I think thatsa国际传媒檚 the sort of exhilaration wesa国际传媒檒l be chasing for the rest of our lives probably.sa国际传媒�
The duo were among the Gamessa国际传媒� most popular athletes. Fans swooned to their chemistry and lapped up the Canadian sa国际传媒渓ove story,sa国际传媒� which wasnsa国际传媒檛 so much a love story as a tale of friends and business partners.
sa国际传媒淰irtue and Moir saved their best for last and captured Canadasa国际传媒檚 hearts with a flawless Olympic finale in a sport where judging means that is sometimes not enough,sa国际传媒� said Dave Peters, the Montreal Gazettesa国际传媒檚 sports and photo editor.
Virtue still hasnsa国际传媒檛 watched her performance from South Korea. Shesa国际传媒檚 too much of a perfectionist. But millions of people have. Just one YouTube video of their Olympic free dance program has almost three million views.
Virtue and Moir are the second figure skating duo to win the award, which was first presented in 1966 to the Montreal Canadiens. Pairs skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier won it in 2001.
Lori Ewing , The Canadian Press
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