London·Video

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir get hero's welcome in London

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada's Olympic darlings and the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history, were greeted with hometown jubilation by adoring fans when they landed in London, Ont.

The most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history spoke to fans and posed for selfies

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir get hometown welcome in London, Ont.

7 years ago
Duration 0:56
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir get hometown welcome in London, Ont.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada's Olympic darlings and the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history, were greeted with hometown jubilation by adoring fans when they landed in London, Ont., Monday. 

About 150 giddy fans packed the arrivals area of the London International Airport holding signs, waving flags, carrying figure skates and even breaking into a spontaneous performance of O Canada as they eagerly awaited the ice dancing pair's arrival. 

Scott Moir signs a t-shirt being worn by one of his young fans shortly after landing at the airport in London, Ont. Monday. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

"I've been a fan of them since Vancouver, so it's really neat to see them up close," said fan Lucia Sun. "I wanted to give them a warm welcome home."

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Megan McMaster, who has been following the pair since they began in competitive skating. "I admire them and I'm just so proud that they're Canadian."

Virtue and Moir pulled off a record-setting performance in Pyeongchang, winning five medals, including two sets of gold.

About 150 people packed the arrivals section of the London International Airport in London, Ont. to give figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir a hero's welcome. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

"It couldn't have gone any better for us," Virtue said Monday. "I think the best feeling was taking the ice knowing that we did everything we could to prepare."

"It's so nice to be back on home soil. After a long month away, it feels so nice to be able to celebrate with our communities," she said. 

Figure skater Tessa Virtue poses with one of the dozens of young fans who came out to see her and her ice dancing partner Scott Moir at the London, Ont. airport Monday. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

Virtue and Moir were also some of the most talked about athletes in South Korea, with fans hoping their on-ice chemistry might translate into a real-life romance, with some even creating mushy fan fiction about the pair.

Still, while the pair is cagey about their personal relationship, they are focused on a future together. 

Virtue and Moir had said that Pyeongchang would be their last Olympic Games, but they didn't hint they would retire from the world of figure skating anytime soon. 

"Tessa and I are lucky in figure skating. We get to go on tour now, we're going to do the Stars on Ice tour," Moir said Monday. "So we're looking forward to that, that's kind of the next chapter for us, then we'll have to wait and see what the future holds."

Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue return to a hometown welcome in London, Ont., an adoring crowd broke out into a spontaneous version of O Canada as the ice dancing pair made their way through the city airport arrivals gate. (Colin Butler/CBC News)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Colin Butler

Reporter

Colin Butler covers the environment, real estate, justice as well as urban and rural affairs for CBC News in London, Ont. He is a veteran journalist with 20 years' experience in print, radio and television in seven Canadian cities. You can email him at [email protected].