Nothing new! Since season 4 Dancing With the StarsOlympic athletes have always been the most sought-after celebrities when it comes down to casting. Like all celebs who join the show, some are successful while others fail.
Apolo OhnoThe first Olympian to compete in the Olympics, taking home the mirrorball trophy along with a pro partner Julianne HoughIn 2007. Ohno’s win got him invited back for the all-stars season in 2012, during which he was paired with Karina Smirnoff. However, he couldn’t snag the trophy during his second run.
In 2021 Suni LeeShe was one of the first to be announced for the epic season 30 fresh from her run at the Tokyo Olympics. Her former teammate. Laurie HernandezThe mirrorball trophy was won by, who is now the winner of season 23. Simone BilesShe was fourth in season 24 and contributed to her hopes of doing the show.
“I’ve seen so many people go out there and do Dancing With the Stars, so it was one of my goals after the Olympics,” she said at the time, noting that her friends mocked her because she isn’t a good dancer. Plus, she knew she’d struggle with letting herself smile and have fun on the floor. “You’re expressing yourself even more when you’re dancing, because you’ve kind of been locked up a little bit in gymnastics. Dancing is just super fun.”
Biles, the dance partner of Sasha FarberOn the competition series, there was also backlash because of not smiling enough while dancing.
“Your skills are unquestionable,” judge Carrie Ann InabaShe said it to her during a 2017 episode. “You hit every line with precision and perfection. But once again, I’m going to come back to performance and authenticity about who you are when you perform. … You have this beautiful smile and you are a megastar with your energy, but once in a while, there’s beauty without a smile. There’s beauty in pain and all of the other emotions, and I’d like to see more of that.”
The athlete simply responded, “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”
Scroll down to see the gallery below to see all Olympians who have appeared on DWTS, and how they performed in the competition.
