Tessa Virtue

At 35 years old, Tessa Virtue has this physical status:

Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a retired Canadian ice dancer.

Scott Moir, a three-time World Championship winner, is the 2010 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion (2010–2017), and the 2006 World Junior champion (2010–2018).

Virtue and Moir are also the 2018 Olympic gold medalists in the team competition and the 2014 Olympic silver medalists in the team competition.

They are the most decorated Canadian ice dance team of all time and the most decorated Olympic figure skaters of all time. Virtue and Moir were paired in 1997 between seven and nine years old, with a dated between them.

They are the 2004 Canadian junior champions and the 2007 champions of Canada's top ice dance team.

They are the 2008 World silver medalists and the 2009 World bronze medalists, and they became the first ice dance team to receive a 10.0 for a program component score under the new ISU Judging System.

They were the first ice dancers from North America to win an Olympic gold medal in 2010, snaping an Olympic drought that has lasted 34 years.

They are the youngest ice dance team to win an Olympic championship.

They were the first ice dancers to win gold medal in their Olympic debut, and the first ice dance team to win Olympic gold on home ice.

They are the 2010 and 2012 world champions, as well as the 2011 and 2013 Olympic ice dance and team event silver medalists. They returned to action in the fall of 2016 and became the 2017 World champions after taking a two-season break from the sport.

They are five-time Olympic medalists as of 2018.

Virtue and Moir are the holders of the world record for the now-defunct original dance. Virtue and Moir are the longest-running ice dance team in Canadian history, having skated together for more than 20 years.

They are considered by some to be the best ice dancers of all time due to their longevity, success, and versatility on the ice.

"They've become especially beloved by new and returning fans alike for their energetic appearances and undeniable chemistry, both on and off the ice," Time magazine reported in 2018.

Virtue and Moir announced on September 17, 2019, that they are "stepping away" from the sport after 22 years as ice dancing partners.

Personal life

Virtue was born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest of four children, born to Kate and Jim Virtue. In contrast to a traditional education school called AMDEC, which is based in Windsor, Ontario, she attended Holy Names High School. She began skating at the age of six after a school field trip was scheduled to take place at a ice arena. A nine-year-old Virtue, two years into her relationship with Moir, has turned down the opportunity to enroll in the National Ballet School to devote herself to skating. She studied psychology at the University of Windsor in 2007, and at the University of Western Ontario, she was completing her degree in 2014. Virtue was also trained in gymnastics, track, and other sports as an infant.

Virtue began training under Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in 2004, who resided in Canton, Michigan, in the United States. She returned to London, Ontario, after the 2014 Olympics. She and Moir were coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Quebec, in 2016. Virtue and Moir have long referred to themselves as "the best friend" of each other. "It's a special relationship," Virtue said. We all agree that the world is a little bit different."

Virtue revealed in March 2020 that she was in a friendship with Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. They met one another through a mutual friend, according to Rielly. In the fall of 2020, Virtue's University's Executive MBA program began.

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Career

Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997, at the age of seven and nine, paired together by his aunt Carol Moir, who had been teaching both of them individually. Virtue and Moir trained in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, early in their careers after being dropped from their first skating club in Ilderton, Ontario, under Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing. At the 2001 Canadian Championships, they were the pre-novice champions.

Virtue and Moir gained bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian Championships at the novice level in the 2001-2002 season. They finished seventh at the 2003 Canadian Championships in the junior division for the seventh time this season.

Virtue and Moir made their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut in 2003–04 on the 2003–04 ISU Junior Grand Prix in 2003. They finished 4th in Croatia and 6th in Slovakia, respectively. They won the Junior title, qualifying them for the team's 2004 World Junior Championships, where they finished 11th. Virtue and Moir relocated to Canton, Michigan, where they began collaborating with Russian coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in the summer of 2004.

Virtue and Moir went up to the national senior level in the 2004-05 season, but they remained juniors internationally. They won their event in China and gained the silver medal at the event in France, where they qualified for their first Junior Grand Prix Final, where they earned the bronze medal. They earned their senior national championships debut at the 2005 Canadian Championships and finished fourth. They were selected to the team for the 2005 World Junior Championships, where they captured the silver medal.

Virtue and Moir remained at the junior level in the 2005-06 season around the world. They won both of their assigned events as well as the Junior Grand Prix Final on the 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix.

Virtue and Moir were ranked third alternates to the Olympic team at the 2006 Canadian Championships and were named first alternates. Despite being on the junior circuit, their placement led to their selection into the 2006 Four Continents, their first international senior competition in which they captured the bronze medal. They were the first Canadian ice dance team to win the competition at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Virtue and Moir are the most decorated junior ice dancers in the international junior circuit as of this season, having gone undefeated in the international junior circuit.

Virtue and Moir competed solely on the senior level during the 2006–07 season. They debuted their Grand Prix debut at the 2006 Skate Canada International Exhibition, where they gained their first gold medal. They finished 4th at the 2006 Trophée Éric Bompard.

Virtue and Moir took silver medals at the 2007 Canadian Championships and repeated their bronze medal finish at Four Continents. When they placed 6th in their first appearance at the World Championships, they made the best debut by any team in over two decades.

The 2007-08 Grand Prix series, Virtue and Moir were assigned to Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. They won the 2007 Skate Canada International and finished second, qualifying them for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished in fourth place.

Virtue and Moir won their first Canadian national championship at the 2008 Canadian Championships, earning them spots in the Four Continents and World Championships. They won the gold medal at the 2008 Four Continents Championships, their first international success as seniors. They were silver medalists at the 2008 World Championships in Sweden, winning the free dance segment of their program to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack.

Virtue and Moir were disqualified from both of their Grand Prix appearances in 2008-09 due to Virtue's medical illness; she had been suffering from persistent exertional compartment syndrome since 2008 and underwent surgery in October 2008 to resolve the condition. She returned to the ice at the start of December, a time when she later stated that she was probably too early. The 2009 Canadian Championships, the season's first competition, was won by the two nations in their second back-to-back national championships.

Virtue and Moir finished second second behind their colleagues and training partners, Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, at the 2009 Four Continents Championships. They earned the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships after finishing 3rd in the compulsory dance, 6th in the original dance, and 4th in the free skate.

Virtue/Moir debuted at the 2010 Olympic Games, finishing first by a margin of 16.07 points ahead of the silver medalists, Nathalie Péchalat, and Fabian Bourzat. They also won the 2009 Skate Canada International with a total score of 204.38 points, 19.31 points ahead of Péchalat/Bourzat. They were the first 10.0 for ice dancing under the ISU Judging System at that championship. Davis and White came in second place in the Grand Prix Final behind Davis and White.

Virtue and Moir won their third national title at the 2010 Canadian Championships in January 2010, placing first in all three segments of the competition and earning 221.95 points overall, ahead of silver medalists Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier. They set Canadian records for free dance and total.

Virtue and Moir competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics' ice dance competition from February 19 to 22. They came in second in the compulsory dance, with a new personal record of 42.74 points, just 1.02 off the lead. In the original dance, they received 68.41 points, placing first in that segment of the competition. They scored 110.42 points in the free dance and lifted the gold medal overall with an astonishing total score of 221.57, beating silver medalist Davis and White by 5.83 points. They swam in the free dance, which they matched to Mahler's Symphony No. 1. The judges gave them four ten.00 marks in the program sections, two for the execution and two for interpretation, a first for a figure skater or team under the International Judging System. They were the first Canadian, as well as the first North American ice dance team and the youngest dance group to win the Olympics (Moir), and the first ice dance team to win the Olympic gold on home ice. They were also the first ice dancers to win gold in their Olympic debut since the inaugural Olympic ice dance event in 1976.

Virtue/Moir participated in the 2010 World Championships and came first in the compulsory dance with 44.13 points, bettering their previous personal record. They also won the original dance with 70.27 points, a world record under the ISU Judging System. With 110.03 points, they came in second in the free dance, 0.46 behind Davis and White. Overall, they earned their first World Championship title scoring 224.43 points, 1.40 ahead of the Americans. In the original dance and in the free dance, they were awarded ten points for program components.

Virtue and Moir were sent to the 2010 Skate Canada International and the 2010 Trophée Éric Bompard for the 2010-2011 Grand Prix season. Virtue underwent surgery in October 2010 to relieve the lingering pain in her shins and calves that is a result of chronic exertional compartment syndrome, causing them to withdraw from the Grand Prix circuit. They were also barred from the 2011 Canadian Championships because they didn't have enough time to train after the surgery.

Virtue/Moir made their season debut at the 2011 Four Continents. Following the short dance, they were in the lead but they were forced to withdraw midway through the free dance after Virtue complained of tightness in her left quad muscle. "My quad pain was actually coming from my pelvis and back," Virtue said. [I]t seemed to be related to a particular lift we were using, which was a split lift. We converted the lift back to Michigan right away, so we now have a more upside-down position rather than a split." They finished second overall by 3.48 points behind Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States in second place at the 2011 World Championships.

Virtue's shins and calves hurt after the World Championships. She decided against undergoing third surgery and instead used other approaches to solve the condition.

Virtue/Moir was assigned to two Grand Prix events, 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Trophée Éric Bompard, having declined to participate in a third, although they were not able to participate in a third. In August, they revealed their music picks. The two teams claimed the 2011 Finlandia Trophy in their first event of the season. They won both their Grand Prix events and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they came in second place in both categories, earning the silver medal in both categories. The ISU admitted a scoring mistake in the free dance in late December 2011; Virtue and Moir would have won the segment if the scores had been correctly calculated (+ 0.5 points). However, the Grand Prix Final scores were left unchanged.

Virtue/Moir won their fourth national title in January 2012. They appeared at the 2012 Four Continents Championships in February. They fought for their second consecutive Four Continents championships and first since 2008. It was also their first victory over training mates Davis/White since the 2010 World Championships. Virtue and Moir competed at the 2012 World Championships and won the gold medal, finishing first in both segments ahead of silver medalists Davis and White.

Virtue and Moir decided to stay at the rink with Marina Zueva, despite Igor Shpilband's dismissal from the Arctic Edge Arena in June 2012.

Virtue and Moir were disqualified from the 2012 Finlandia Trophy due to a small muscle strain in Moir's neck. They were matched to two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate Canada International and the 2012 Rostelecom Cup. They won the short dance at Skate Canada with a score of 65.09, just 0.01 points ahead of Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy. They went on to win the tournament with a total score of 169.41, which was 9.35 points ahead of the Italians.

Virtue and Moir received the silver medal behind Davis and White in the Grand Prix Final. They wanted to change their "The Waltz Goes On" short dance, simplifying the plotline. At the 2013 Canadian Championships, the two performed the modified short dance, receiving a score of 79.04. They gained their fifth national championship with a total score of 187.19 after a Carmen-themed free dance. In the short dance at the 2013 Four Continents Championships, Virtue and Moir came first. Virtue felt cramping in her legs and slowed the performance, and they returned about three minutes and finished second to Davis and White in second place. At the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, Virtue and Moir also finished second to Davis and White.

Virtue/Moir started their season at the 2013 Finnia Trophy in 2013 and took the gold medal. They were destined to two Grand Prix events for the season, the 2013 Skate Canada International and the 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard, and they both competed in both series. They ended in a world record in the Grand Prix Final (190.00) that was beaten minutes later by Davis/White.

Virtue and Moir said they could be retiring following the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, during the airing of the 2014 Canadian National Championships on TSN, where they earned their sixth national title. They earned silver in both the ice dance and team skate categories at the Sochi games. The second-place finish was influenced by controversies surrounding teaching and judging. The French sports journal L'Équipe claimed that US and Russian judges conspired to guarantee gold for Russia in the team event and gold for Americans Davis and White in the ice dance competition. Virtue and Moir were two points behind Davis and White, the event's creators of the Finnstep (required pattern dance for the season), and Petri Kokko, a ice dancer, stood out on Twitter to support Virtue and Moir. In addition,, Marina Zoueva's apparent inability in assisting both the first and second-place ice dancers sparked concerns about whether she had displayed favouritism to the Americans (especially because she chose to march with the US team in the opening ceremony) and that she had less coaching time to the Canadians. Though Virtue and Moir expressed reservations about the coaching, they also congratulated the American pair for their Olympic triumph.

Virtue and Moir have decided not to compete at the 2014 World Championships.

Virtue and Moir announced on CBC's Road to the Olympic Games that they would return to action for the 2016–17 figure skating season, replacing former champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon as the sport's new coaches on February 20, 2016. They won gold with a total score of 189.06. They returned to figure skating in 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, where they won gold again during the 2016-2017 season. At the 2016 NHK Trophy in Japan, they set a new high score of 195.84 (including a world record short dance record of 79.47) in November 2016. They had the highest scores at a Grand Prix event. They surpassed those figures two weeks later, with 80.5 in the short dance and 197.22 overall at the Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France, where they won for the first time in their career.

Virtue and Moir won their seventh national title in January with a combined score of 203.45, setting Canadian records in short dance, free dance, and total points. They won their third title at the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in South Korea in February, a new personal record in the free dance at 117.20 points and 196.95 points overall, setting a new personal record in the free dance.

At the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Virtue and Moir set a new world record short dance performance. They received a score of 82.43 and a huge 5.5-point advantage over former champions and training partners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. They came in second place in the free dance with Moir tripping. "I got back up and Tessa made a comeback to me," Moir said, "it immediately brought me back to life and I just kept going." They won their third title and their third championship as world champions, despite 198.62 points, breaking yet another world record and winning their third title as world champions. Virtue/Moir were undefeated for the first time in their competitive career for the first time in their careers.

Virtue and Moir selected The Rolling Stones, Eagles, and Santana for their short dance, and skated to the Moulin Rouge during the 2017–2018 season. The free dance of their children has a soundtrack. In September, Virtue and Moir began their seasons at the Autumn Classic International in September. Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy were their Grand Prix entries, and they both gained, scoring 199.86 and 198.64 respectively. Virtue and Moir lost for the first time since returning to action, finishing second behind training mates and main rivals Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, who had a half-point lead after the short dance.

Virtue and Moir were among the 2018 Canadian National Championships winners. They debuted their resurgent free dance, as well as new choreography and music for a more dramatic performance. They won their 8th national title with a combined score of 209.82, after a nearly flawless short dance and getting a perfect score on the free dance. They modified a "risque" lift in their Moulin Rouge routine that had involve Virtue's legs wrapped around Moir's head after the game. They performed the modified lift during the team competition but then went back to the original version for the individual ice dance event at the Olympics.

They were named the Canadian flag bearers for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on January 16, the first time a Canadian man and woman carried the country's flag together into an Olympic opening ceremony. Virtue and Moir gained gold for Canada's team in the Olympic figure skating team competition by placing first in both the short dance and free dance segments of the competition. They are competing for their fourth Olympic medal and tied for the most figure skaters to win. Virtue and Moir dominated their own personal record for the short dance, bringing them to first place. They came second in the free dance, but their results were enough to win their second individual Olympic title on February 20, 2018, just two years after announcing their competitive comeback. They also beat the world record for overall score, which had been set by Papadakis/Cizeron minutes before. This was Virtue and Moir's fifth Olympic medal, making them the most decorated Olympic figure skaters in history.

Non-competitive career

Virtue, Moira, and co-writer Steve Milton published a book about their journey from Childhood Dream to Gold in October 2010. Tessa and Scott, a television show that focuses on their Olympic preparations, was shot in late 2013. In January 2014, the show premiered on W Network.

Virtue and Moir toured in Canada and Japan in the offseason since 2010 and before their break from racing. They appeared in ice shows like Festa On Ice, Shall We Dance On Ice, and All That Skate. They have also participated in Art on Ice in Switzerland and have been on Gold Medal Plate auction trips several times.

The Thank You Canada Tour, which was produced and skated by She and Moir in their own ice skating exhibition, The Thank You Canada Tour in 2018. They co-produced the Rock the Rink tour in 2019. Following on from that success, they co-produced the Rock the Rink tour in 2019.

Hillberg & Berk announced their collaboration with Tessa Virtue in 2015. They launched Tessa Virtue's jewelry line, which she also created in October of this year.

BonLook announced a glasses collaboration with Virtue in 2017. In January 2018, BonLook X Tessa Virtue collection was released.

Numerous Canadian businesses have sponsored Virtue and Moir's competitive skating careers, including Visa, Air Canada, Acura West, Lindt, and General Mills. Companies such as Adidas, Nivea (as the first Canadian brand advertiser), Colgate, and MAC Cosmetics have all sponsored Virtue.

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Awards and honours

• Virtue and Moir were inducted in London (ON) Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 after winning gold in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was a somewhat unusual decision because the guidelines for athletes to be considered for induction is retirement from their sport for a period of two years while Virtue and Moir were just at the beginning of their career. Furthermore, the induction event was moved into September that year so as not to interfere with the upcoming skating season.
• Virtue and Moir were honoured as the Canadian Olympic athletes of the year by CBC in December 2017.
• In early May 2018, Virtue and Moir were awarded Partnership of the Year, along with pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, at the 45th Sports Québec gala.
• Following 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic, Tessa Virtue was named one of the most famous female athletes in the world by ESPN. Virtue is the highest placed Canadian female athlete and second highest placed female winter sports athlete.
• In December 2018, Virtue and Moir were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in the Sports and Athletics category.
• On October 23, 2019, Virtue, together with Moir, received a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD) from The University of Western Ontario at the university's 314th Convocation, where she attended briefly.
• On November 27, 2020, Governor General of Canada named Virtue and Moir as Members of the Order of Canada.