Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir close Olympic curtain with Gord Downie tribute

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir treated the fans in South Korea to what is likely their final skate on Olympic ice, sending a distinctly Canadian message back home.

For their exhibition program, Virtue and Moir skated a touching and heartfelt routine to the song Long Time Running by  The Tragically Hip.

The program was designed to honour The Hip's frontman, Gord Downie, who died in October after a battle with brain cancer.

"When I think about Gord and I think about the Hip and what they've been able to do," Moir said recently, "it's kind of the soundtrack to being Canadian almost."

The Canadians returned from retirement to make another run at the Olympics, eager to add to the gold they won in Vancouver and the two silver medals they won in the individual and team events in Sochi.

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They opened the Pyeongchang Games with flawless programs during the team event, helping Canada win a runaway gold medal. Then they dazzled in the short dance and, in their estimation, had their finest free dance of their lives to edge Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron for gold.

Their third gold medal matched the Olympic record for a figure skater.

Their five Olympic medals overall broke the record, which they had shared since the team event.

"We still love what we do, but it's personal this time," Moir said. "It was for each other, we skated with each other in mind the whole way and we skated with our hearts. It's extremely fulfilling."

After years spent grinding toward competition, the gala is an opportunity for skaters to finally let down their hair, have a little fun and do what they enjoy most: entertain.

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After winning the bronze medal in the pairs figure skate program, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford also went with a pop-rock touch as they bid an end to their competitive careers, performing their gala skate set to Piano Man by Billy Joel.

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Canadian bronze medal winner Kaetlyn Osmond was in the fight for the medals more recently than her teammates, coming back two days after her podium appearance to skate to Tori Kelly's version of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah.

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Virtue, Moir, Duhamel, Radford, Gabrielle Daleman and Patrick Chan all contributed during the first week of the Olympics to earn Canada gold in the team event at the Gangneung Ice Arena.

With files from The Associated Press