Back Where They Belong

It has been anything but a casual waltz, to be sure.
Forgive Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir if they're in need of a deep breath or two. And not just because of the energy they expended in an out-of-this-world free dance Saturday night at the 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships.
They'll take plenty of time now to savour senior national title No. 2.
"We’re extremely pleased with the way we skated and I’m excited to be a national champion again," Moir said after he and his partner earned 94.68 points for their Pink Floyd-themed free dance and 197.77 overall.
Not exactly best-ever numbers — it was still 22.19 points better than silver medallists Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier — but considering Virtue was off the ice for two months in the fall after double knee surgery, they'll certainly take it.
"I think, given the circumstances, I have to be happy with that skate," said Virtue, 19, of London, Ont. "It’s not necessarily what we’d hoped for at this point in the season but I’m just so pleased with our progress. I’m really grateful to be back here and competing at nationals again. It’s definitely our favourite event and we’re honoured to be on top."
The race to get to this point has been frenzied, to say the least. Virtue had the surgery in early October to relieve pain in her shins caused by chronic exertional compartment syndrome. While she rehabbed at home in London, Moir tried to stay on top of the program by himself at their training base in Detroit, using sandbags at times to simulate his partner.
"Three months ago, I couldn’t walk and that says a lot," said Virtue. "We weren’t able to train exactly the way we wanted to but I think this week will help us in the end and we’re going to be so much stronger because of it."
Moir was filled with admiration for his partner.
"I was pretty proud of her and what she’s accomplished in the last three months," said Moir, 21, of Ilderton, Ont. "It definitely wasn’t an easy road for her. Hopefully, we can stay on the road to recovery and get these programs up to 100 per cent and the way we want them to be."
The free dance was pretty impressive to the folks on hand Saturday night at Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre. They were awestruck by the intricate lifts in particular, including one in which Virtue balanced herself on Moir's back with her hands high in the air.
"Most of the pressure is going into his back but I feel like I’m surfing up there," she said. "It’s a balancing act, that’s for sure."
Moir had one stumble along he way — he jokingly called it his "Floydian slip" — but they're on their way again, with the March world championships in Los Angeles clearly in sight. They were No. 2 on the planet at last year's global event in Gothenburg, Sweden, with only one step left to climb.
Safe to say, they managed a pretty big first one this week.