Virtue & Moir grab Grand Prix gold in Japan
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir claimed their second Grand Prix gold of the season, winning NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan.
The 2010 Olympic champions scored a personal best 117.72 points for their Moulin Rouge free dance, giving them an overall total of 198.64 to remain undefeated since their return to competition last season.
Team Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform their free dance at Skate Canada International in Regina on Saturday, October 28, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue took the silver medal with 188.35 points while 2014 World Champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte were less than two points back for bronze.
Virtue and Moir had more than a four-point lead after the short dance in which they scored 80.92, almost two points off their world record mark after Moir had a slight bobble on the end of their twizzle sequence.
In the free dance, they received level four on all but one of their step sequences.
Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform their free dance in the ice dance competition at Skate Canada International in Regina on Saturday, October 28, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
The three time world champions won Skate Canada International two weeks ago. They are now qualified for the Grand Prix Final, which will be back in Japan, December 7-10, this time in Nagoya.
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Next week’s Grand Prix series stop, the Internationaux de France, will feature Kaetlyn Osmond, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, and Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch as the Canadian entries.
