LONDON, Ontario (AP) — “The Goose” has been brought back down to earth.
Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the world bronze medalists in ice dance, have changed their signature lift after learning the element — which they’ve been doing all season — might be considered illegal.
“We love that move and got some good feedback on it, but we just kind of had to roll with the punches,” Virtue said. “It’s just not worth the risk in case we get to the Olympics and (officials) decide to count that as illegal.”
In the original “Goose,” Virtue was poised on one leg on the back of a crouched Moir, her arms outstretched, before leaping to the ice. It drew gasps from fans for its distinctiveness and difficulty.
But some judges might consider her leap a jump — a no-no in ice dancing. Now, she’ll spill into Moir’s arms.
Virtue and Moir had about a week to practice their new version of “The Goose” before the Canadian nationals, which began Thursday. They’ll have another four weeks to fine-tune it before the Vancouver Olympics begin.
“It’s a little bit tough when Tessa and I work so hard to come up with lifts and kind of be original and it seems every time we do something cool, they clamp down on it,” Moir said. “But this kind of dismount is cool, too.”