Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are a step closer to ending their Olympic careers with gold medals around their necks.
The three-time world champions and ice dancing partners for two decades scored 83.67 points in Monday鈥檚 short dance to 鈥淪ympathy for the Devil,鈥� 鈥淗otel California,鈥� and 鈥淥ye Como Va,鈥� to sit first at the Pyeongchang Games. The score topped their own previous world mark of 82.68 set at Skate Canada International in October.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we are really proud of,鈥� said Moir. 鈥漈hat is every athlete鈥檚 goal here and to come out and do the best you can. And to do it on this stage, we鈥檙e really, really proud of that. We know our work isn鈥檛 over. It鈥檚 a long event. The biggest chunk is tomorrow and we have to stay on our game.鈥�
French rivals Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron scored 81.93 for second.
Virtue, a 28-year-old from London, Ont., and the 30-year-old Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010. They lost to Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White four years later in Sochi, and then took two seasons off, returning in hopes of reclaiming gold.
Virtue and Moir, who will retire after Pyeongchang, were undefeated in their return until losing to Papadakis and Cizeron in the Grand Prix Final in December.
Canada鈥檚 other duos also qualified for the free dance, with Andrew Poje and Kaitlyn Weaver sitting eighth with 74.33 points and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirer earning 69.60 for ninth. The free dance is Tuesday.
鈥淲e tried to go there and really soak in the environment and the energy that is the Olympics,鈥� said Poje. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing experience to be part of the team here and the great environment of all the athletes.鈥�
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Skier Cassie Sharpe is off to a promising start in the women鈥檚 halfpipe, taking the top spot in qualifying.
Sharpe, from Comox, B.C., scored 93.40 on her second run after a 93.00 on her first time down the halfpipe. In halfpipe, the best score from two runs counts.
鈥淥n my first run I just really wanted to land, that鈥檚 like my biggest thing for my confidence,鈥� said Sharpe. 鈥滻f I don鈥檛 land my first run, I have a hard time coming back from that, so I just really wanted to land my run, and then after that I was like 鈥極K, I want to qualify first because I want to drop last in the final鈥�.
鈥淏ecause if you do well through that, you can drop last, and it鈥檚 your victory lap. It鈥檚 the best feeling in the world. So if I can get another one of those, I mean, I鈥檓 so excited.鈥�
Calgary鈥檚 Rosalind Groenewoud qualified 11th with a score of 73.20. The top 12 competitors move on to Tuesday鈥檚 finals.
France鈥檚 Marie Martinod was second with 92.00 points and Brita Sigourney of the United States was third with 90.60 points.
In women鈥檚 big air, Laurie Blouin of Stoneham, Que., was fourth after the qualifying round. She scored 92.25 in her second qualifying run for the big air competition, landing a cab double underflip, the same trick she tried in her first run. In big air, the best score from two runs counts.
鈥淚 did one of my biggest tricks that I have 100 per cent on lock to make sure I make it through to final,鈥� said Blouin. 鈥淔or the final I have another big trick, so I鈥檓 going to have to work hard in practice.鈥�
Blouin suffered a head injury when she fell during training for the women鈥檚 slopestyle on Feb. 9, but went on to win a silver medal in that event.
Spencer O鈥橞rien of Courtenay, B.C., was 11th after earning 76.75 points in her second run. The top 12 competitors advance to Friday鈥檚 finals.
Austria鈥檚 Anna Gasser was first in qualifying with 98.00 points in her second run, followed up by Japan鈥檚 Yuka Fujimori (94.25) and Reira Iwabuchi (92.75).
In curling, the losing streak continues for Kevin Koe鈥檚 curling rink. The Calgary skip lost his third straight game Monday, a 9-7 decision against the U.S. in extra ends.
The loss drops Canada鈥檚 record to 4-3, but still has Koe in a playoff position. He鈥檚 tied for third with Britain.
The top four make the semifinals.
On the women鈥檚 side, Rachel Homan pulled her rink into playoff contention with an 8-3 win over Japan.
The Canadians have won three straight after beginning the tournament with three losses.
鈥淲e had to let go of the past and focus on the present, one game and one shot at the time,鈥� said Homan of the turnaround. 鈥漇tay in the moment, but still enjoying our time here and our experience as Olympians. I鈥檓 really proud that we鈥檙e here representing Canada and we鈥檙e going to give it our all and leave it out there.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 good enough, awesome, and we can鈥檛 wait to hopefully make playoff. If it鈥檚 not good enough, the team comes out that plays better than us deserves to win.鈥�
The win put Canada into a tie for fourth with China and Britain at 3-3.
Later Monday, Canada plays the team from Russia in the women鈥檚 hockey semifinals.
The Canadian Press
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