Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars ousted two former champions and their professional partners in a special double elimination during Tuesday night's seventh live fifteenth-season results show on ABC.

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Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and professional partner Karina Smirnoff and NFL football star Emmitt Smith and partner Cheryl Burke became the ninth and tenth couples ousted from the competition after being declared the bottom-two couples based on the combination of the Dancing with the Stars judges' scores they had received during Monday night's semifinals performance show and the home viewer votes that were cast immediately afterwards.

"This competition was hard from the beginning and Karina's a champion. I've learned so much about her; She's taught me so much about myself. And this show is amazing for far beyond just what the mirror-ball trophy has in store for people, and every single person who does this show is a champion, because it forces you to become a champion in your own right," Ohno said following his ouster mid-episode.

"It forces you to become more confident, stronger, and it's been a blessing. Every single week, the fans have been so amazing. Everybody makes this show happen. It's a big family, and I feel great regardless of what happened."

Monday night's broadcast featured each of the five remaining All-Star couples dancing two individual routines -- one being a dance of an unusual style to a specific theme selected by their fellow contestants, and the other being a routine to one of the songs off Michael Jackson's "Bad" album in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

Ohno, who won Dancing with the Stars' fourth season with Julianne Hough in 2007, and Smirnoff finished in third place on Monday night's judges' leaderboard. The couple racked in a total of 57 out of 60 possible points for their two dances from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

Ohno and Smirnoff earned 27 out of 30 possible points for their Bigtop jazz routine and then a perfect score of 30 out of 30 possible points for their subsequent rumba performance to a Michael Jackson hit.

Smith and Burke, who was also partnered with Smith when he won Dancing with the Stars' third season in 2006, finished tied for fourth place with soap star Kelly Monaco and partner Val Chmerkovskiy after both pairs ended the night with an overall score of 54 points.

Smith and Burke first took the stage and performed an "espionage Lindy Hop" that earned 27 points from the judges. They then followed it up with a tango routine which received an additional 27 points.

"You know, it's been a tremendous experience. It's been a great ride. Cheryl has been a tremendous partner. She has pushed me to another level. Season 3 was something else, but this right here takes it over the top. All of these contestants here, they have pushed me to another level. I'm serious. And I have a great appreciation for the show. [Tom Bergeron], it's been wonderful working with you as well as you [Brooke Burke-Charvet]," Smith said after he was eliminated at the end of the broadcast.

Monaco and Chmerkovskiy performed a "surfer flamenco" which received only 25.5 points from the judges, but they managed to raise their total score later on once they danced a rumba routine which earned 28.5 points.

Monday night's semifinals leaderboard was topped by Shawn Johnson and partner Derek Hough. The Olympic gold medalist gymnast and Derek Hough finished in first place after they received a total of 59 points. The couple received a perfect score of 30 for their "Knight Rider Bhangra" routine, which was an Indian folk dance set to the theme of the television series Knight Rider. They also earned 29 points for their Argentine tango routine.

Reality TV star Melissa Rycroft and partner Tony Dovolani finished in second place on the judges' leaderboard with 57.5 total points.

Rycroft and Dovolani danced a "caveman hustle" which received 27.5 points from the judges and then followed it up with an Argentine tango that earned a perfect score of 30 additional points.

Next week, ABC will air Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars finals in which the remaining three couples -- which are all fronted by female celebrities for the first time in the show's history -- will perform for home viewer votes on Monday night and then one pairing will be crowned the season's champions on Tuesday night.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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