Canadian skating team Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history, and they’ll use their talents to pay tribute to another great Canadian.

 

This Sunday (February 25), the team will perform a routine set to the Tragically Hip’s “Long Time Running” at the Olympic figure skating exhibition gala. The event features performances from the sport’s medal winners, without the rules of a regular competition.

“When I think about Gord and I think about the Hip and what they’ve been able to do, it’s kind of the soundtrack to being Canadian almost,” Moir told the Canadian Press. “It’s special for us that we get to skate to the Hip, and it’s our tribute to one of my heroes and a guy who was so wonderfully weird, and just how he embraced life.”

“We’re both huge fans, and Scott just asked if we could somehow choreograph a little tribute and we thought maybe it would only be for that one competition, but it’s been lovely to take the ice and to celebrate a Canadian hero, and it means a lot to us,” Virtue added. “The lyrics of ‘Long Time Running’ also are easy for us to connect with for our career, but we’re really looking forward to performing that on Olympic ice.”

 

The duo previously skated to the same Road Apples song in 2017, following the news of Gord’s passing.