Figure skating: Record-breaking Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir dance into first place

Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir made a perfect start in their bid to add another Olympic medal to the four they already possess by breaking their own ice dance short programme world record to skate ahead of the field on Monday.

The pair have tasted defeat just once since coming out of retirement in late 2016, when a loss to France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron at the Nagoya Grand Prix Final last December was enough to make them tweak their programme.

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Virtue and Moir, who are competing in their last Olympics and played a key role in Canada's team trophy gold last week, scored 83.67 points for their sizzling Latin-themed routine, breaking their previous record mark of 82.68.

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They edged out their French rivals, whose stellar skate had the audience clapping along to the Ed Sheeran soundtrack that accompanied their dance, by less than two points with Papadakis and Cizeron awarded 81.93 by the judges.

"It feels great but even better than the world record is the feeling we had when we ended the programme," Virtue told Reuters.

"We're really pleased with that performance. On the world's biggest stage when the pressure is mounting, it's nice to be able to deliver like that."

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir

Image credit: Getty Images

Virtue and Moir have two individual Olympic medals, gold from Vancouver in 2010 and silver in Sochi four years ago, as well as a 2014 team silver to go with last week's gold.

These Olympics have been billed as a showdown between the Canadian and French pairs, with figure skating experts believing a loss for Virtue and Moir would signal a generational change in the sport.