Tessa Virtue
| Tessa Virtue | |
|---|---|
 Virtue (left) and Moir (right) at the 2008 World Championships. | |
| Full name | Tessa Virtue |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1] |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Partner | Scott Moir |
| Coach | Igor Shpilband Marina Zoueva Johnny Johns |
| Skating club | Ilderton Skating Club |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Figure skating | ||
| Representing Canada
| ||
 |
2010 Vancouver | Ice dancing |
Tessa Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian ice dancer who competes with Scott Moir. They are the 2010 Olympic champions, the 2008 World silver medalists, the 2008 Four Continents Champions, the 2006 World Junior Champions and the 2008–2010 Canadian national champions. Together with Moir, Virtue won the Gold Medal in the Ice Dancing event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.[2]
They have received the first 10.0 for ice dance under the ISU Judging System.[3] As of January 2010[update], they were ranked 3rd in the world.[4]
Personal life
Virtue was born in London, Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest of four children. She currently lives and trains in Canton, Michigan, USA, although her official residence remains London. She attended Holy Names High School in Windsor, Ontario. She is a freshman at the University of Windsor and studying for a degree in psychology.[5]
Career
Early career
Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997.
In the 2001-2002 season, they won the bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian National Championships at the novice level. In 2003, they placed 7th at the 2003 Canadian Nationals in the junior division.
In 2003-2004, they made their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut on the 2003-2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix. They placed 4th at the event in Croatia and 6th in Slovakia. 2004 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, they won the Junior title, qualifying them for the team to the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 11th.
The following season, they moved up to senior nationally but remained juniors internationally. On the 2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won the event in China and won the silver medal at the event in France, which qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they won the silver medal.
They made their senior national debut at the 2005 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, where they placed fourth. They were named to the team to the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they won the silver medal.
2005–2008
They remained Junior internationally in the 2005–2006 season. On the 2005–2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won both their events as well as the Junior Grand Prix Final.
At the 2006 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, they placed 3rd and were named as first alternates to the Olympic team. They were named to the team to the 2006 Four Continents Championships, where they won the bronze medal. At the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, they won the title, becoming the first Canadian ice dancers to become World Junior Champions.
In the 2006–2007 season, they moved up to the senior level internationally. They made their Grand Prix debut at the 2006 Skate Canada International, where they won the silver medal. They placed 4th at the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard.
At the 2007 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, they won the silver medal, and repeated their bronze medal finish at 2007 Four Continents Championships. In their debut at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships, they placed 6th. At the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships in Sweden, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal, winning the free dance segment with their program to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack.
During the off-season, they toured in ice shows.
2008–2009 season
In the 2008-2009 season, Virtue & Moir withdrew from both their Grand Prix events due to an injury to Virtue. At the 2009 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, they won the gold medal.
At the 2009 Four Continents Championships, they won the silver medal behind training mates Meryl Davis & Charlie White. At the 2009 World Championships, they won the bronze medal, after placing 3rd in the compulsory dance, 6th in the original dance, and 4th in the free skate.
During the off-season, they toured in ice shows.
2009-2010 season
They started off the 2009-2010 Olympic season at the 2009 Trophee Eric Bompard, finishing first by a margin of 16.07 points ahead of the silver medalists, Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat. They also won the 2009 Skate Canada International, with a total combined score of 204.38 points, again 19.31 points ahead of Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat. At that competition, they received the first 10.0 for ice dance under the Code of Points.[6]
On January 2010, they won their third National title at the 2010 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, placing first all the three segments of the competition and earning 221.95 points overall, which was 7.25 ahead of silver medalists Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier. They set Canadian records for free dance and for combined total.[7]
They competed in the ice dancing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics from February 19 through 22. They placed second in the compulsory dance, earning a new personal best score of 42.74 points, just 1.02 off the lead. They earned 68.41 points in the original dance, placing first in that segment of the competition[8]. They scored 110.42 points in the free dance, winning the gold medal overall with a total score of 221.57, surpassing silver medalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White by 5.83 points. In the free dance, they received four 10.00 marks from the judges in the program components, two for the performance execution and two for interpretation.[9] They became the first Canadian as well as the first North-American ice dance team and the youngest dance team to win the Olympics, and the first ice dance team to win the Olympic gold on home ice.[10]
Programs
Competitive highlights
(with Moir)
Post-2006
| Event | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 1st | |||
| World Championships | 6th | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Four Continents Championships | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | |
| Canadian Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Grand Prix Final | 4th | 2nd | ||
| Skate Canada International | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |
| Trophee Eric Bompard | 4th | 1st | ||
| NHK Trophy | 2nd |
Pre-2006
| Event | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Continents Championships | 3rd | ||||
| World Junior Championships | 11th | 2nd | 1st | ||
| Canadian Championships | 3rd N. | 7th J. | 1st J. | 4th | 3rd |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 2nd | 1st | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Canada | 1st | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Andorra | 1st | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, China | 1st | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, France | 2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Croatia | 4th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia | 6th | ||||
| NACS Thornhill | 1st J. | ||||
| Western Ontario Sectionals | 1st J. | 1st J. | 1st |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level
References
- ^ "Tessa Virtue — Figure Skating Athletes : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Vancouver2010.com. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ "Sporting News — Olympics". Vancouver.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ "News Virtue, Moir win dance at Skate Canada". 2009-11-21. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ "ISU World Standings for Figure Skating and Ice Dance : Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ "Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir — Figure Skating News". Goldenskate.com. 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ "News Virtue, Moir win dance at Skate Canada". 2009-11-21. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ "Virtue, Moir make figure skating history". 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010, Original Dance Scores". http://www.vancouver2010.com. 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "XXI Winter Olympics, Ice Dance FD Scores" (PDF). International Skating Union. 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
- ^ Smith, Beverley (2010-02-22). "Virtue and Moir make history with ice dance gold". CTV Olympics. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
External links
- Official Site
- Skate Canada Profile
- Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir at the International Skating Union
- Template:PDFlink
