Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir Are Ice Dancing’s King and Queen

As almost any dating person will tell you, the chase is more exciting that the conquest. I look at the Canadians Virtue and Moir and they look like they are totally into each other, and have never consummated that lust. Which may be why they have not turned into an old married couple after dancing for 20 years together. They still want each other. As for the French dancers, I watched and thought that they were out of synch on the spins, and over all their raggedy doll flopping was a bit limp. Too emo for me. As for the Americans, great tech but you are never going to bring passion to skating with your sister or brother.

I agree that the French can be ethereal and mesmerizing, and their 2016 free dance "To Build A Home" was to me, revolutionary. As an ice dancing "enthusiast" (to put it mildly), I was so moved by this program and must have watched it dozens of times. However, their next two free dances (last season's and this year's Olympic program) were simply iterations of the 2016 program - the same lyrical/balletic style to the same pace of music and their combination spin positions have not changed since the 2015 Worlds. Contrast this to the long career of Virtue and Moir who, since 2006-07, have skated their long programs to Jean Sibelius, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Pink Floyd, Gustav Mahler, Club des Belugas (latin/techno) and Diana Krall, George Gershwin, Carmen, Alexander Glazunov, Sam Smith, and this year, Moulin Rouge! Imagine the versatility and talent required to create fresh, beautiful, convincing, and technically difficult programs to such a range of music styles (and all are well worth a view on Youtube!). And this is just the range of styles they mastered for the free program - their short program range is just as diverse - from flamenco to Prince! This versatility is what makes them true artists and true risk-takers and what has kept me watching them for the last 12 years straight. The French are unique, but thus far it seems they are good at one style at one pace, and their level of difficulty in lifts is far behind all top 10 teams in the world.

I wish NBC would show some of the performances of the less accomplished skaters. I'd love to see their courage and delight at performing in the Olympics.

It is no one's fault but the designer and the wearer when the clasp malfunctions. Obviously there was not enough stress testing and a lack of redundancy to keep Papadakis' costume intact. I can't/won't blame the Canadians for being fabulous and the French pair not taking gold but if they feel the broken strap robbed them of their place in the sun, the costumer should never get their business again...or anyone else's

Apt headline. I took my mom, who doesn't follow ice dance, to this year's Canadian Nationals. During group warm-ups she asked me which pair was the one I liked. I told her to guess. After a few minutes, she pointed to Virtue/Moir and said: "Those two. She carries herself like a queen. And he a king."

I won't claim to be an expert on this sport, since I only catch glimpses of it every 4 years like every other casual Olympics fan, but some observations: The Canadian team is elevated by all the meta-textual weight of their routine - especially now that it can be choreographed to music with overtly romantic lyrics. It's impossible to look at the Virtue/Moir pair and not plainly see that A) they are completely ("secretly") locked in some kind of epic love, or B) are the greatest actors to ever live. Watching them almost feels like an intrusion on something private.

In the #metoo era, perhaps it's time to devise more modest costumes for the twofold purpose of (1) protection from the male gaze and (2) inclusiveness towards Muslims and others with cultural requirements for modesty.

Some of the best competition we’ve seen at the Olympics! And beautiful too! Our hearts go out to all the teams and congratulations to the Shib Sibs!

Virtue and Moir would not have won had there not been the costume problem for the French, They are amazing skaters but frankly I have seen the look on her face if anyone gets a better score and the sense of "we deserve everything" is loud and clear. The French skaters were actually better received - does this writer know what a quiet audience means - that the audience was truly moved, not just being loud. Texas below - the French were quiet but I have seen actual sneers on Tessa's face before.

The French skater's costume didn't "open revealingly" from any angle I saw. it was a collar clasp at the back of the neck that flapped around during the performance, but nothing even remotely "revealing" about it. When scores were received and the gold went to the Canadians, the French were deadpan and dejected--what a ridiculous reaction to just having won a Silver medal at the Olympics, and to not only the stellar Canadian couple who are also their training buddies. Really reflected badly on the French, who should be overjoyed, like all medal winners should be, at simply placing--but American media, in particular, has glorified Gold, and only Gold, to such ridiculous extent, anything less is now something to be wrecked about instead of celebrating. How sad.

What is so refreshing and stellar about the Canadian duo is the athleticism and grace of each, and the electricity and empathy between them. They skate as equals and individuals. Tessa Virtue is so relatable as a strong, stylish woman, not a petite sprite. Scott Moir is an artistic, elegant man, not just the muscles. Artistry and athleticism so well-matched. These are skaters and performers for the modern world. A duo, not a couple (on or off the ice, please note.) Long may they influence the sport.

This accomplishment for these two is especially significant since they took a hiatus away from skating for a couple of years only to get back together last year to take another run at it leading up to the Olympics.

I watched as much of the medal round skating as NBC would show on its two channels and I was mesmerized throughout the program. Lucky for the skaters that I am not a judge as I thought they were all spectacular.

All medal winners, and more, are wonderful skaters, but the Canadians did the best at making skating serve their art.

Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir celebrate everything that is positive about the Olympics: hard work through decades of commitment, perseverance through the very hard times - Tessa had several surgeries - and an effervescent joy throughout very complex routines. This is what the Olympics is all about and not doping to win! Congratulations to Tessa and Scott for years of superb performances!

Virtue and Moir were wonderful, but I would take issue with the commentator in the article who said that Papadakis and Cizeron were not mesmerizing. Oh but they were! Truly sublime and the best long program ever in ice dancing.

It annoys me when people unfamiliar with ice skating or who did not see both parts of the competition automatically assume that the judges just handed the title to the Canadians. Reality check. Ice dancing judging is still extremely subjective. Yes, the French team had a wardrobe malfunction; they also made many many mistakes in the short dance yet surprisingly nearly tied the Canadians' near-perfect performance. Come on...Many would also argue that the 2nd Canadian team was ripped off in the short dance, with teams that didn't skate nearly as well placed ahead of them.

The three medalists in the ice dance all skated clean, which used to be a standard for medaling in any top competition; it's nice to see that being upheld in this discipline, at least. A generational change in the top ice dance competitors is on the cusp of happening. At least four or five out of the top ten from last night will not be back. Although it would appear that Papadakis/Cizeron will therefore dominate the sport for the next Olympic cycle, is it possible there will be a backlash against their "languid, modern" routines? Everybody likes a little pizzazz on the ice, to keep one awake if nothing else!

Virtue and Moir were absolutely brilliant and such a joy to watch. I loved Papadakis and Cizeron of France, but Virtue and Moir were in another league. They were the epitome of perfection and deserved the Gold medal. Congratulations to Ice Dancing's King and Queen.

We, the fans, won as well -- what an amazing competition! Very happy for the Shibutanis, too ! And... very annoyed with NBC; Canadian couple Gilles and Poirier skated a great program but unless you watched online, you didn't get to see it. They preferred to show talking heads, promo shots and way too many commercials-- but the Canadians who took 8th place? nope. The online stream is better than the televised show with fewer commercials, more skating, and more and better commentary. Another very annoying thing is that NBC is using two commentators online who are not credited anywhere. After hours of searching, finally found their names in a skating forum: most likely Belinda Noonan of Australia and Jim Van Horne of Canada. All in all-- spectacular skating--- great time to be a fan!

An outstanding competition. Every single one of the medal-winners brought something extraordinary.

Papadakis and Cizeron silenced the crowd with a stunning performance that left people in awe of what they just witnessed. Talk about “mesmerized”...it was the most intimate moment on ice...shared with millions around the world...Bravo!

I much preferred the French couples performance to the Moonlight Sonata. It brought me to my feet watching at home. It is very unfortunate she had the costume mishap in the short program. They would have won otherwise IMO.

Thank goodness for ice dancing. With figure skating having turned into little more than a jumping competition, it's nice to see that artistry on the ice hasn't disappeared completely.

if there is less than a single point between the top two why not call it a tie?

I really have enjoyed watching this lovely couple skate over the years. They skate with each other in mind and give it their all. I was stunned that while they’re so young, they’ve been skating together for 20 years. A recent CBC interview that I saw with them revealed how much respect and admiration they have for each other. This story was just as brilliant as the German pairs win win last week!

Canadians are normally not effusive. But I have to say that I am SO PROUD of my Virtue and Moir team! How energizing and lovely are they. Very inspiring...to all of us whether we can skate or not...I would personally be hospitalized if I tried even one of their moves, but it is the complete dedication to excellence that I admire the most, unremittingly so. Thank you.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were spectacular. Their beauty, energy, and emotion were deeply felt throughout their entire program. Tough brake for Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France - to lose by less than a point must have been shattering. I was spellbound by both couples' performances - such elegance and grace from skates on ice. WOW!