Gold-medal finale

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This article was published 08/05/2018 (2888 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The most successful generation of figure skaters Canada has ever produced is in the midst of a joyous, cross-country victory lap.

And an emotional retirement party.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Patrick Chan, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and Kaetlyn Osmond — sans their slew of Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals — touch down in Winnipeg on Wednesday night for Stars on Ice, an Olympic celebration at Bell MTS Place. They’ll be joined by Olympic bronze medallist Javier Fernandez of Spain, past Canadian Olympic medallists Elvis Stojko and Jeff Buttle and world pairs medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje.

The six figure skaters — plus tour-mate and gold medallist Gabby Daleman — took Pyeongchang, South Korea, by storm last February with a decisive victory over their Russian and American rivals in Olympic figure skating team competition.

That breath-taking gold-medal win propelled ice dancers Virtue and Moir to a second gold in their individual event, while pairs duo Duhamel and Radford and women’s competitor Osmond rode the wave to capture bronze in theirs. With that they became Canada’s winningest Olympic figure skating team in history.

For Virtue and Moir, Duhamel and Radford and Chan — who won Olympic men’s silver in 2014 — the 2018 Pyeongchang Games was also their competitive swan song.

“It’s so fitting that it’s the end of all of our careers and together we were able to get that team gold. It’s only fitting that we did that together. (Stars on Ice) is like a final ta-da!” Duhamel said of the show tour that rolls east to west with performances in 12 cities.

Moir, who made his debut on the tour in 2010, reports he had never experienced this much excitement among the Stars cast.

“I don’t know if it’s because we worked on building that team atmosphere (for the Olympics), but it really has a family feel and a lot of excitement,” he said.

Virtue and Moir co-captained their on-ice family to gold in Pyeongchang — a result four years in the making.

“It started with how unhappy we were (with team silver) in Sochi,” Moir revealed.

“When we talked and debriefed after Sochi we found that all of us — Tessa, Meagan and Eric and I — felt we were too casual. When there’s an Olympic gold medal on the line, we felt we needed to be more aggressive in our approach.”

They built camaraderie and determination by communicating with each other before the Olympic season even began — emailing, texting and talking about their team strategy in the months leading up to the Games.

“When someone sent an email New Year’s Day suggesting they heard the Russians were the favourites, we decided that wasn’t the way it was going to go,” Moir recalled.

“We were going to win this thing and be really honest about our thoughts. That built momentum. We felt like we had our backs against the wall, like Russia was the team to beat, and we went after it.”

Moir admits he was “a mess” watching his cohorts compete as the team event got underway.

“After the men’s short (when Chan fought through a shaky performance), I had a meeting with myself and was like, ‘OK, you can’t go through this emotional roller-coaster.’ But when Meagan and Eric took the ice, they had such command and control. That was the turning point for us and we never looked back.”

Osmond, who parlayed her Olympic successes into a world title in March, said she is “beyond happy” with how her season played out and looks forward to competing again next season.

“In 2014, I was part of the team who came second. Since that time, I’ve become a lot closer (to the other skaters) and saw how everyone was pushing for that gold medal, how much of a family we’ve become in that time. Everyone was so committed.”

That unity, Osmond believes, gave Canada the edge.

“Our team (cheering) box at the end of the ice was always full. We had to kick some coaches out because we couldn’t fit all the skaters in. When we looked down the line, often other teams didn’t have many people — sometimes just coaches and team leaders, no other skaters. Definitely, we felt the sense of family in that box. Everyone was always supporting, jumping for joy every chance we had.”

According to Duhamel, that familial feel stems from the fact Canada’s veterans met when they were kids.

“We’ve known each other for two, 21/2 decades that we’ve all been together in the skating world. Kaetlyn came into our group a little later because she’s a lot younger than us, but we’ve been able to watch her career flourish,” said the two-time world pairs champion, now 32.

“When you can feel the support of your teammates, it lends itself to the skaters feeling more confident. I didn’t feel I had to worry about anyone else’s performance because I knew they were all going to do their job. We trusted each other.

“There was always a positive energy. We were working toward the team gold medal. We wouldn’t have been happy with the silver, to be honest, but we kept it light and fun. Everybody just had each other’s back. That goes so far, so much deeper than just the sporting world.”

As Canada’s long-reigning champions close the door on their stellar competitive careers, they are savouring the chance to celebrate together.

For Virtue and Moir, there is plenty to celebrate when looking back at their Olympic career — ice dance gold medals in 2010 and 2018, the team gold in 2018, and individual and team silvers at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

“It’s special,” said Moir — who, along with Virtue will reprise their sizzling Moulin Rouge routine for the Stars tour. 

“It’s tough to look at your own career, but you can size up your colleagues’. When I think about Patrick’s, and Meagan and Eric’s careers, it’s emotional. There’s a lot of love in this cast and a lot of experience. It just seems like the right time. I know Tessa and I are feeling a little emotional this tour.”