Apolo Takes the Disco Ball in the Fourth ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Athlete Now Has One More Shiny Trophy on His Shelf
Well, I was obviously wrong when I claimed earlier this season that Apolo Anton Ohno and his professional partner Julianne Hough would not triumph in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars. Last night, the gold medal-winning Olympic speed skater proved that fact when he celebrated his 25th birthday by performing one not-so-simple feat: trumping fellow Top Three contenders Laila Ali and Joey Fatone to place first in the latest edition of the reality series. He is now the second sports figure in a row to ace the competition, following former pro football player Emmitt Smith‘s victory in the third season.
Laila, who accomplished a spectacular feat of her own by managing to survive past the first three rounds (when all of the other female contenders, save ballyhooed Brit Heather Mills, were quickly booted) came in third, while entertaining show-off Joey, the contestant with the most pre-Stars dancing experience due to his boy band days in ‘N Sync, was runner-up.
Although I was not as enamored with Apolo as quickly as the rest of the American public, in the last few weeks his performances did finally start to earn my praise. Julianne was never an issue, however, because anyone who isn’t blind can immediately appreciate just how big and bright a ball of sheer talent she is. Her choreography especially was a continual delight from week to week, even when I disagreed with everyone else and thought Apolo looked out of his league. But then, Dancing with the Stars is not so much about being the best dancer as it is about dancing the best that you can. In the latter respect, Apolo delivered more consistently than any other celebrity this time around. Congratulations to him.
Related Links: Dancing with the Stars Recaps
Apolo Ohno and Julianne Hough photo courtesy of WireImage.com
