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Arguably the greatest ice dancers of all time, Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have competed together for the final time, clinching the gold medal in a thrilling finale at the Winter Olympics.
Brought together as a couple by Moir's aunt when he was nine and Virtue was seven, their career together lasted two decades.
It came to an end in tears, cheers and glory on the ice at the Gangneung Ice Arena.
The win makes them only the second pair to win two Olympic titles in ice dancing, following Russia's Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov in Lillehammer and Nagano in the 1990s.
They also are the most successful ice dancers at Olympic level with five overall medals.
Virtue and Moir's stunning skate skills, brilliant artistic interpretation and sparkling chemistry have led to thousands of fans to second-guess their relationship, writing fan-fiction about them being together, and posting endless gifs on social media of their interactions on and off the ice.
To say their fans sweat the little stuff about their idols would be an understatement.
The pair — who have a ritual of hugging each other each time before they skate — have denied they are a couple, and say they are just best friends.
This hadn't stopped the weight of anticipation from fans of a resolution after their final skate.
Ice dancing is a less dynamic form of skating than the pairs, with no jumps in the programs and more spins, steps and twizzles — a continuous one-foot turn while moving across the rink.
But as Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean showed in the 1980s with their famous Bolero routine, you can still capture a crowd with less outrageous moves and complete understanding on the ice.
Vancouver victory makes pair local heroes
For years, the Canadians have thrilled audiences with their programs, and a sense of timing and flair mixed with a passionate approach to skating.
The pair won Olympic gold on home soil in Vancouver in 2010, and were favourites to go back-to-back four years ago in Sochi, only to be pipped for the top spot on the podium by Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
They have not had things all their own way, however.
Virtue had to put up for years with chronic pain in her legs — she underwent two surgeries in 2008 and 2011 to treat compartment syndrome — and after the loss in Sochi they left the sport for two years.
In their absence France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron swept all before them, winning two world titles.
Virtue and Moir couldn't stay away, however — when they made their comeback in late 2016, they moved their training base to Montreal, to join French coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.
The coaches' other main proteges? None other than Papadakis and Cizeron, plus American pair Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.
The rivals for Olympic gold competed over the last year. Virtue and Moir looked unbeatable — taking a third world title in 2017 — until the French pair scored an important win in the Grand Prix event in Nagoya, Japan, last December.
Coming to Pyeongchang, Virtue and Moir were chosen as Canada's flagbearers for the opening ceremony, and they backed up to be part of the Canadian gold medal in the team event.
Last chance for glory in Pyeongchang
When it came to the ice dance, Virtue and Moir broke their own world record score in the short program, to hold a narrow 1.74 point lead over their French rivals.
But Papadakis and Cizeron — who had to cope with a nightmarish wardrobe malfunction in the short program — still had the potential to spoil the party.
The French pair skated their free dance program to the Piano Sonata and Moonlight Sonata. They looked impressive in a dramatic and stylish routine, which put the pressure firmly on their rivals.
They earned the maximum 10-point rating for performance and composition, and scored 123.35 (a world record for the free dance), for a record total of 205.28 to move into the gold medal position with two pairs left.
Skating 20th and last, the Canadians saved a potent performance for their final competitive outing on the ice.
A mash-up of the sensual tango of Roxanne and the soaring love song Come What May from the movie Moulin Rouge, the four-minute routine was mesmerising.
From the moment the pair put in a perfect set of twizzles to show their skating skill, the crowd was roaring them on.
The Canadians put back in a lift which they had ruled too risqué for their program in the team event earlier in the Games, where Virtue straddled Moir's neck with her legs around his shoulders.
By the time Virtue stood with her skates on Moir for a dramatic final lift, and then spun together for the finish of the routine, they knew they had delivered their best when it mattered.
The waiting room for skaters to find out their marks is known as the "kiss and cry" area.
But the emotions were already spilling over from the moment the final program finished.
There was palpable tension as the pair waited for the judges' assessment, but the roar that went up from the crowd when the scores came in was matched by the pair.
An elated Moir leapt to his feet in celebration, punching the air, before turning and lifting Virtue out of her chair in a bearhug.
They could not match the French pair in the free dance, earning 122.62, but coupled with their short program, Virtue and Moir had a total of 206.07.
It was a one-two for coaches Dubreuil and Lauzon, with the Canadians taking the gold and Papadakis and Cizeron the silver.
This time, Virtue and Moir got to go out on a high.
Topics: sport, winter-olympics, figure-skating, korea-republic-of, canada
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