THEY match their breathing before they take to the ice. One of their moves was so sensual they decided to remove it from their routine ahead of the Winter Olympics. In countless ways, they’re more synchronised than many married couples.
But mystery continues to surround whether Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir — who became the most decorated Olympic skaters of all time by taking gold in the ice dance on Tuesday night — are actually a couple.
In what was almost certainly their final appearance on the world stage, the Vancouver 2010 champions looked destined for silver after French rivals Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron appeared to have stolen the show in PyeongChang, breaking their own free dance and combined score mark.
But skating last, Virtue and Moir pulled out the dance of their lives under incredible pressure to earn 122.40 for a combined record total of 206.07 points and the gold medal, narrowly bettering the French duo’s 205.28. “We were present, we were together, we knew we were happy,” Moir said.
For Virtue and Moir, 30, this was a record fifth medal to go with their Vancouver gold and the silvers they won in the team and ice dance at Sochi, and gold in last week’s team event in PyeongChang. “We’re going to celebrate with some champagne,” smiled Virtue.
But first they had to answer a question that’s been directed their way countless times after they first joined as a pair as children on the recommendation of Moir’s aunt, who was a skating coach.
“Your chemistry is undeniable. Twitter’s exploding. They want you guys to be a couple. Would you just give us the 411 on that situation?” asked American television host Hoda Kotb.
“Well, that’s such a compliment that you feel that when you watch us skate,” Virtue responded. “We absolutely love performing together.”
“Guess mission accomplished,” Moir added. “That was the story we were telling, so I’m happy that you fell in love with that.”
And for the umpteenth time their fans around the world were left unsatisfied.
As far as great love stories go, Virtue and Moir’s journey has all the elements.
They became a skating duo when he was nine and she was seven — and initially they were too shy to even hold hands.
But they developed in to what many in PyeongChang were suggesting are the greatest skaters of all time because Kotb is right, their chemistry is undeniable. Listen to the way they spoke about each other in a pre-Games interview with Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine.
“She’s creative, from the beginning of time,” Moir said. “She can move like nobody I’ve ever seen. She’s very, very selfless; she’s a people pleaser. But my favourite things I think have really just gotten even better in the last couple of years and that’s her drive, that’s her commitment to being an athlete.”
“We both think the world of one another,” Virtue responded. “Scott is the most disciplined, driven athlete I’ve ever met. There’s a fierce competitor deep within and the passion and the raw talent that is there — the ability to move and hear music and interpret it — is unlike anyone else I’ve ever seen on the ice. And I think because he wears his heart on his sleeve people feel so drawn in and captivated by his performances. He’s generous, thoughtful and extremely insightful.”
GALLERY
But apart from a brief period of flirtation as kids, which ended when Moir’s friends teased him for having a girlfriend at age 10 and he promptly called Virtue to put an end to their budding romance, they’d have you believe their relationship is platonic.
Of course that hasn’t stopped internet sleuths searching for any scrap of evidence that would suggest otherwise.
One of the most shared pieces of footage is a lighthearted question-and-answer game which involved the pair writing responses to questions about each other on a board.
To the query, “who is more likely to sleep in and miss practice?”, came this apparent slip-up.
“Anything sleep-related is me,” said Tessa, which led to an unexpected revelation from Scott.
“If you get to sleep. Sometimes you’re just so restless,” said Scott, before realising his mistake and attempting to recover by saying “… I’ve read”.
Others would have you believe this celebratory hand hold was a sign there’s more going on than they’re telling us.
But could this all be a ploy to maintain interest in their journey, keep the spotlight on their sport — and even affect the judges scoring their performances?
Virtue and Moir make no secret of how important storytelling is to their routines. Perhaps they’ve just been spinning a tale of gold.
“I think that’s the beauty of the Olympics,” Virtue told Maclean’s. “There’s always a story. There’s always someone you’re invested in. There are so many Olympic moments that resonate with people all across Canada, and I think that’s the beauty of it. We’re just one of those stories and we’re grateful for the support we’ve received.”