News / Entertainment
Dancing with the Stars Crowns Apolo Anton Ohno
Winning a gold medal while representing your country at the Olympics is nice but taking the Disco Ball trophy in ‘Dancing with the Stars’ may be just as rewarding for Apolo Anton Ohno.
Having already grabbed two Olympic gold medals as a speed skater Apolo now has a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ title to put down on his resume as the 25-year-old beat out Joey Fatone and Laila Ali in Tuesday nights finale.
It would have seemed that Fatone held a slight advantage over Apolo and Laila due to his days in the boy band N’ Synch but Joey went with a more playful approach to the competition rather than actually trying to master the technical side of each dance. In the end he may have had more fun than Ohno and Ali but fun doesn’t translate into win.
As for Ali, she was perhaps the surprise hit of season four for ‘Dancing with the Stars’ as she displayed an air of elegance and style that was missing from each of the other female contestants. Ali earned high praise from the judges and even earned the nickname “Cleopatra Ali” from Len Goodman but in the end it wasn’t enough to eclipse Apolo.
All three contestants were awarded perfect scores for their dance on Tuesday night making the final vote all the more difficult to call. While Apolo held a slight lead on the scoreboard with a two-night total of 88 compared to 86 and 85 for Fatone and Ali, factoring in the viewers’ vote made the final call all the more difficult to call.
Ali was knocked out first as she became the ninth contestant eliminated in season four. While she was obviously disappointed she was poised and showed the class and poise that won her many fans throughout the competition.
With just Apolo and Joey left standing the ‘Dancing’ title would either go to the guy that improved each week and eventually became the best dancer on the floor or the guy that enjoyed interacting with the viewers and truly entertaining. When Apolo was announced as the winner it was clear that the judges and viewers went with the best dancer rather than the best entertainer.
