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@ISU_Figure: Btw, 83.67 is a new Short Dance highest score. What a stage to do it at @tessavirtue @ScottMoir !!!! #Olympics #FigureSkating

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Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir break short dance record at Pyeongchang Olympics

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA—Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir stepped back onto the competitive ice last season with the single-minded goal of reclaiming Olympic gold.

Canada’s ice dance darlings are one skate away.

“To go out and connect and perform like that,” Moir said, “that’s why we came back.”

The three-time world champions and partners for two decades skated to a world record 83.67 points with their sizzling, sensual short dance to “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Hotel California,” and “Oye Como Va,” on Monday, and when the music stopped, Moir wrapped Virtue up in a giant hug.

“We love to skate together and we love to play the characters that we’re playing,” Moir said. “After 20 years, if you don’t have love for each other . . do you know what we’ve been through together?

“It’s been a fun ride to be together. We don’t have to fake the feeling of looking into each other’s eyes and feeling something. That’s a joy. It’s been a joy our whole career ... We’ve spent hours in dark, crappy hockey rinks doing programs like this to be in this limelight and to enjoy this moment together.”

Their score topped their own previous world mark of 82.68 set at Skate Canada International in October.

French rivals Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron scored 81.93 for second, despite a major costume malfunction. Papadakis’s dress came undone near the start of the program, exposing her nipple, but they continued on.

“It was my worst nightmare happening at the Olympics,” a teary-eyed Papadakis said after.

Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are third (77.75). All three teams train in Montreal with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrick Lauzon.

Kaitlyn Weaver of Toronto and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are eighth, one spot ahead of Piper Gilles of Toronto and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont.

The 28-year-old Virtue, and Moir, 30, won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010, but lost to Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White four years later in Sochi. They took two seasons off, and haven’t been shy about stating their intentions for Pyeongchang: nothing but gold will do. They went undefeated in a spectacular return until December, when they were beaten by Papadakis and Cizeron at the Grand Prix Final.

The first team on the ice in the final group of six, Virtue and Moir set the bar sky-high with an energy that was a level higher than even last week’s skate that helped Canada win gold in the team event. They powered across the ice in perfect harmony, drawing cheers from the crowd with their perfectly executed twizzles — the side-by-side travelling spins are a required element in ice dance, and can make or break a program.

Moir said that after the team event their coaches “tore apart the tape,” to unearth anything that wasn’t top notch.

“We knew right after both of our performances that we could do better,” Moir said. “We were really trying to drive the power and speed more today, we knew we’d need that against the French. We’re in great shape. We feel good. We feel like we have more power in our blade, we have more power in our knee than we’ve ever had and we want to showcase that.”

The Canadians are known for both their athleticism and artistry, and figure skating fans eat up their undeniable chemistry.

Monday, Virtue, dressed in a black backless dress with gold jewels, and Moir, his black and gold shirt open nearly to his navel, had fans fired up on social media with their provocative program. They were trending on Twitter, and as one fan tweeted: “Honestly, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have more chemistry in any single moment of a 4-minute performance than exists in the ENTIRE “50 Shades” trilogy.”

Despite their air of confidence, Moir admitted to serious butterflies ahead of their penultimate competitive performance — the two will retire after Pyeongchang.

“People assume that we’ve been doing this for so long that we have it under control, but it wasn’t really the case,” he said. “Hopefully we just rely on our training, and I was able to look in T’s eyes and squeeze her hand and she was a rock for me today.

“It’s what we signed up for. At this point in our career, we hopefully have a better grasp on how special it is to be here at the Olympic Games and skate with the Olympic rings ... allowing that to bring more out of yourself, that’s what the spirit of the Games is all about.”

Virtue and Moir had just returned from Seoul on Saturday, where they’d headed after the team event, both to get away from the hustle and bustle of the athletes village, and spend more time on the ice — three hours a day in Seoul, compared to an hour at most in Pyeongchang.

“With the thrill of winning with the team, we needed some quality rest, sleep in a king-sized bed, to have some room service,” Virtue said. “And then stepping back in, we came back with a new purpose, a different attitude, a different energy. We’re so excited to get back here and get competing again.”

A large contingent of Canadian athletes, including moguls gold medallist Mikael Kingsbury, were at Gangneung Ice Arena to cheer on Virtue and Moir.

The free dance is Tuesday.

- Canadian Press (19th Feb 2018)

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@ISU_Figure: “Better than the record is how happy we are with our performance and how you feel once the music ends” @tessavirtue

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Photo: Tatyana Zenkovich

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