So did Chait/Sakhnovski (3rd in 2002, 6th in 2003). Surprises tend not to repeat themselves.
This example is a major outlier. First, both of these worlds were competed under versions of the old 6.0 system. So it's not fair to compare how results were reached across systems. Second, the medal for C/S was highly disputed and tainted with rumors of collusion and bribery as well as a protest petition by their fellow competitors. (Please don't let this devolve into yet another thread debating all the politics involved in that incident.) Third, I would argue that it was results like these that helped to shape how COP was applied to ice dance, particularly how definite values were applied to elements for the first time, thus making it harder to fix results.
I understand that you are holding firmly to the larger position that surprise results don't recur, but this is not the best example upon which to base that argument.
I think Virtue/Moir fluked into their World bronze medal. Does that render it illegimate?
If by fluking you mean that their score could have flipped with D/W by a mathematical quirk if different random scores had been selected, then yes that could be called a fluke. But I would still say the result was legitimate because everyone knows that's part of how the system works and they have submitted to being judged under it. The relative closeness of their scores heading into the FD made that a distinct possibility. Still I would not say they fluked into a medal, but their point total relative to D/W was flukey. They skated and earned their score based on how their elements were called. Now if you wanted to argue about the quality of those elements and whether or not they should have been graded lower, then that's another ball of wax and is a question about the judges.
In fairness to them, that was a very odd worlds for dance. The judging all the way around along with some of the skating was wacky. Both D/W and V/M made silly errors in various segments. It's arguable that if Meryl and Charlie had been cleaner in both their CD and OD, there never would have been a controversy due to V/M being on the comeback trail. But you could also argue that if Tessa and Scott had skated a clean OD, their margin would have been large enough to keep them safely clear of being challenged by D/W. Referring to my previous post, it was most definitely one of those events with an unclear winner where the results are debatable. Let's not forget that Isabel and Olivier had established themselves as the clear favorites that season for the title before her shoulder injury. Also, K/N were still contenders coming in and so were F/S based both on their finish as the previous worlds and their results that season. And don't forget about P/B, they were improving as well. The landscape of the sport's hierarchy was shifting that season and a lot of teams were suddenly bunched together and were relatively equal in the eyes of both fans and judges.
At worlds, the CD played a major factor in the final result. IIRC, the French feed for that event called out D/W for "jumping" one of their turns in their paso in each pattern. While the rest of the dance was very good, that error likely contributed to the margin between them and the top three leading into the OD, which itself was a total mess (Have you ever seen so many falls and stumbles in a dance event?). I think the judging that year came down to who made the fewest mistakes, not who was the most excellent at any one segment. Let's face it, we've been spoiled for the last two seasons by the technical brilliance of D/W and V/M across all segments of ice dance. There were glimpses of it before in certain segments, usually the FD. But the reason they are dominant now is because they improved other segments where they were weaker. So now we've come to expect blowouts by the winner or the top two. Back then, there was far less clarity about who was the best. It's hard to blame the judges and certainly not the skaters in a murky circumstance like that.