AP News, November 4th, 2007
Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won Skate Canada on Sunday after American Melissa Gregory was injured and taken to a hospital.
Virtue and Moir scored 99.62 points in the free dance to clinch the overall title.
Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte finished second overall, while Pernelle Carron and Mathieu Jost of France were third.
Virtue and Moir entered the day with the lead after getting first-place marks for their original dance.
Gregory was responsive and alert in a hospital after a scary accident during the warmup for the free dance. Gregory and skating partner Denis Petukov, who are married, were practicing a rotational lift. He was holding her with one arm when they lost their connection. Both fell.
Gregory came down on her chest on the Colisee Pepsi ice. After several minutes being attended to, she was taken away on a stretcher as coach Priscilla Hill stood at the boards wiping away tears. Petukov stood beside the stretcher consoling before an ambulance arrived.
Dr. Pierre Fremont, the event's chief medical officer, said "her vital signs are stable."
"She is responsive and alert and undergoing further tests," Fremont said in a news release
Gregory, 26, who is from Highland Park, Ill., and Russian-born Petukhov, 29, teamed in 2000 and they were married in February 2001. He received U.S. citizenship in February 2005.
They were 14th at the 2006 Olympics, and they were second at the U.S. nationals and 10th at the world championships last season. This was their first Grand Prix meet of the new season. They were in fourth place going into the free dance.
