GANGNEUNG, South Korea – Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir continued their amazing comeback season with a golden performance on Friday at the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

The 2010 Olympic champions finished ahead of three American couples nearing a personal best 196.95 points at the Olympic venue for the 2018 Games. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani were second at 191.85 and Madison Chock and Evan Bates third at 185.58.

On Friday, Virtue/Moir delivered a strong Free Dance to “Pilgrims on a Long Journey” and “Latch”, collecting a level four for their lifts, the twizzles, the diagonal step sequence and the spin and a level three for the circular step sequence.

They set a new personal best for the free dance with 117.20 points.

“It was an interesting performance for us as we left a couple of points on the board,” said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. “We really felt the energy and we’re really happy with certain parts of our performance. We’re going to be pretty excited, looking forward to the next five weeks preparing for the World Championship.”

Virtue and Moir, in their first season since winning the silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, have strung together six wins in six events this winter. This included their three Grand Prix assignments, including the Final in December, the Canadian championships last month and the Autumn Classic back in October to launch their comeback.

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., were fifth at 180.09 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto sixth at 170.14.

In the men’s short program, three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Toronto sits fifth with 88.46. Chan fell on his opening quad toe loop and had a step-out on his triple Lutz-triple toe combination.

“I’ve had good days with that program and today wasn’t one of them,” said Chan. “When you compete at such a high level the mistakes you make have more impact and you learn from them. My timing for the quad toe was off which was unexpected because I was on in practice.”

Nathan Chen of the U.S. is first at 103.12, Shoma Uno of Japan second at 100.28 and his compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu third at 97.04.

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C. and Nam Nguyen of Toronto are 12th and 13th.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2017

OTTAWA, ON: Canada will have 12 entries, for a total of 18 skaters, competing at the 2017 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Gangneung, Republic of Korea. The competition takes place from February 16-19, 2017, at the Gangneung Ice Arena, and will serve as the test event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The Canadian team will have three entries per category in men, ladies, pairs and ice dance.

Patrick Chan, 26, Toronto, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian men entries. He has previously competed at this event in 2009, 2012 and 2016, winning gold each time. This season, Chan won the silver medal at the Finlandia Trophy, gold medals at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China, and placed fifth at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The nine-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns in Canton, MI, USA.

Kevin Reynolds, 26, Coquitlam, B.C., is the second Canadian men entry. This will be his sixth time competing at this event, which he won in 2013. This season, Reynolds won silver at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, bronze at Skate Canada International, and silver at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Nam Nguyen, 18, Toronto, Ont., is the third Canadian men entry. He previously competed at this event in 2014, placing 10^th and 2015, placing 11^th. This season, Nguyen placed fifth at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, sixth at Skate America, eighth at the NHK Trophy, and won bronze at the Canadian championships. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Kaetlyn Osmond, 21, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., is the first of three Canadian representatives in the ladies category. Last year, she placed sixth at this event, and in 2013 placed seventh. This season, Osmond won gold at the Finlandia Trophy, silver at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China, placed fourth at the ISU Grand Prix Final, and won her third Canadian title. She is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Gabrielle Daleman, 19, Newmarket, Ont., will also represent Canada in ladies. This will be her second time competing at this event, having placed seventh in 2015. This season, Daleman won bronze at the Nebelhorn Trophy, placed fourth at Skate America and the Trophée de France, and won silver at the Canadian championships. Daleman is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont., rounds out the Canadian entries in the ladies category. This will be her fourth time competing at this event; last year she placed 11^th. This season, she won silver at the 2016 Autumn Classic International, placed fifth at Skate Canada International, 10^th at the NHK Trophy, and won bronze at the Canadian championships. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Meagan Duhamel, 31, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 32, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian entries in the pairs discipline. They have previously competed at this event four times, winning in 2013 and 2015. This season, Duhamel and Radford won gold at the Finlandia Trophy, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy, and won bronze at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The six-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte and Sylvie Fullum in St. Leonard, Que.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 25, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont., will be the second Canadian pairs entry. They have previously competed at this event in 2015, placing sixth, and last season, placing fifth. Earlier this season, Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch won the silver medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy, bronze at Skate Canada International, bronze at the Cup of China, and silver at the Canadian championships. The pair are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 24, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 25, Sarnia, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in pair. This will be their second time competing at this event; they placed ninth in 2015. Moore-Towers and Marinaro won the bronze medal at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships after returning from an injury earlier this season. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Julie Marcotte and Cynthia Lemaire in St. Leonard, Que.

Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. This will be their seventh time competing at this event, which they won in 2008 and 2012. This season, Virtue and Moir won gold at each of their events: Autumn Classic International, Skate Canada International, NHK Trophy and ISU Grand Prix Final, as well as their seventh Canadian title. Virtue and Moir are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Kaitlyn Weaver, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., will also represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their eighth time competing at this event, having won in 2010 and 2015. This season, Weaver and Poje won the bronze medal at the Rostelecom Cup, silver at the Cup of China, and silver at the Canadian championships. They are coached by Nikolai Morozov and train in Hackensack, NJ, USA.

Piper Gilles, 25, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 25, Unionville, Ont., will be the final Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fifth time competing at this event; they won silver in 2014. This season, Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at each of their events: Nebelhorn Trophy, Skate Canada International, Trophée de France, and most recently, the 2017 Canadian championships. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, and Carolyn Allwright of Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian team leaders at this event. Dr. Erika Persson of Edmonton, Alta., will be the Canadian team doctor and Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the team physiotherapist.

Canadian officials at the event are Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., Cynthia Benson of Quispamsis, N.B., and André-Marc Allain of Gatineau, Que.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2017 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS