Name |
Tessa Virtue |
Height |
5 ft 5 in |
Naionality |
Canadian |
Date of Birth |
17-May-1989 |
Place of Birth |
London, Ontario, Canada |
Famous for |
Ice Dancer |
Tessa Virtue is a Canadian ice dancer who competes with Scott Moir. Virtue and Moir are the 2010 Olympic champions, the 2010 & 2012 World Champions, the 2008 & 2012 Four Continents Champions, the 2006 World Junior Champions and five-time (2008–2010, 2012-2013) Canadian national champions.
At the 2009 Skate Canada competition, they became the first ice dance team to ever receive a 10.0 component score mark under the ISU Judging System. They have received more scores of 10.00s than any other figure skating or dance team under the ISU Judging System. They are the current world record score holders for the original dance. Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997, having been paired by his aunt, who was coaching them at the time. Early in their career, they trained in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario with Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing. In the 2001–2002 seasons, Virtue / Moir won the bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian Championships at the novice level. The following season, they placed 7th at the 2003 Canadian Championships in the junior division. In 2003, they moved to Canton, Michigan and began working with coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena. In 2003–2004, Virtue / Moir 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 Championships, they won the junior title, qualifying them for the team to the 2004 World Junior Championships, where they placed 11th.
The following season, Virtue / Moir 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 Championships, where they placed fourth. They were named to the team to the 2005 World Junior Championships, where they won the silver medal. Virtue / Moir withdrew from the 2012 Finlandia Trophy due to a slight muscle strain in Moir's neck. They were assigned to two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate Canada International and the 2012 Rostelecom Cup. At Skate Canada, Virtue and Moir won the short dance with a score of 65.09, only 0.01 points ahead of Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte of Italy. Virtue and Moir won the competition with a total score of 169.41, which was 9.35 points ahead of Cappellini and Lanotte.
At the Grand Prix Final, Virtue / Moir took the silver medal behind Davis / White. They decided to modify their "The Waltz Goes On" short dance, simplifying the storyline. Virtue and Moir debuted the modified short dance at the 2013 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, earning a score of 79.04. They won their fifth national title with a combined score of 187.19 after their Carmen-themed free dance.