Dancing with the Stars: Athletes (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Season twenty-six of Dancing with the Stars, titled Dancing with the Stars: Athletes, premiered on April 30, 2018, on the ABC network. The four-week season, the shortest ever, features a cast of current and former athletes.

On May 21, 2018, Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon and professional dancer Jenna Johnson were announced the winners, marking the first win for Johnson. Rippon is the first openly gay winner. NFL player Josh Norman, with Sharna Burgess, and former Olympic Figure Skater Tonya Harding, with Sasha Farber, were both announced as runners-up during the live finale show. However, it was revealed later that Josh and Sharna placed second, while Tonya and Sasha placed third.

Cast

Couples

The professional dancers were announced on April 12, 2018. The eight professionals returning from last season are Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Keo Motsepe, Gleb Savchenko, and Emma Slater. The two remaining professional dancers were both in the troupe last season, and have previously been professional dancers on the show: Sasha Farber (last competed in season 24) and Jenna Johnson (last competed in season 23). The five professionals from last season that are not returning are Cheryl Burke, Mark Ballas, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Peta Murgatroyd, and Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

The cast was announced on April 13 on Good Morning America.

Celebrity	Notability (known for)	Professional partner	Status
	Olympic snowboarder		Eliminated 1st
	Former MLB outfielder
	Former NBA center		Eliminated 2nd
	Notre Dame women's basketball player
	Former Olympic softball pitcher		Eliminated 3rd
	Olympic luger
	Olympic figure skater
	Former Olympic figure skater		Third place
	NFL cornerback		Runner-up
	Olympic figure skater		Winner

Hosts and judges

Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews returned as hosts, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges. On May 7, season 24 champion Rashad Jennings returned as a guest judge. On May 14, season 24 runner-up David Ross returned as a guest judge.

Dance troupe

The dance troupe for season 26 consists of season 25 troupe members Artur Adamski, Brandon Armstrong, Hayley Erbert, and Britt Stewart. Additionally, professional dancer Morgan Larson, who performed on the Dancing with the Stars: Light Up the Night tour, joined the troupe for season 26.

Scoring chart

Couple	Place	1	2	3	4
Adam & Jenna	1	24	37+37=74	39+2=41	30+28=58
Josh & Sharna	2	24	30+33=63	36+2=38	27+30=57
Tonya & Sasha	3	23	33+33=66	33+2=35	26+30=56
Jennie & Keo	4	21	26+37=63	29
Chris & Witney		21	33+33=66	33
Mirai & Alan		23	37+37=74	35
Kareem & Lindsay	7	17	26+33=59
Arike & Gleb		20	33+37=70
Jamie & Artem	9	19
Johnny & Emma		18

Red numbers Indicates the lowest score for each week.

Green numbers Indicates the highest score for each week.

The returning couple that was the last to be called safe.

The couple was eliminated that week.

{{colorbox}} The winning couple.

{{colorbox}} the runner-up couple

{{colorbox}} the third place couple

Average chart

This table only counts dances scored on a 30-point scale (scores by guest judges and points awarded in the dance-offs are excluded).

Rank by average	Place	Couple	Total points	Number of dances	Average
1	1	Adam & Jenna	166	6	27.7
2	4	Mirai & Alan	103	4	25.8
	2	Josh & Sharna	155	6	25.8
4	3	Tonya & Sasha	151		25.2
5	7	Arike & Gleb	71	3	23.7
6	4	Chris & Witney	94	4	23.5
7		Jennie & Keo	88		22.0
8	7	Kareem & Lindsay	60	3	20.0
9	9	Jamie & Artem	19	1	19.0
10		Johnny & Emma	18		18.0

Highest and lowest scoring performances

The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' 30-point scale (scores by guest judges are excluded) are as follows:

Dance	Highest scored dancer(s)	Highest score	Lowest scored dancer(s)	Lowest score
Salsa	Mirai Nagasu	23	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	19
Cha-cha-cha	Adam Rippon Josh Norman	24	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	17
Foxtrot	Mirai Nagasu Josh Norman	27	Johnny Damon	18
Viennese waltz	Tonya Harding	26	Jamie Anderson	19
Paso doble	Josh Norman	23	"?	"?
Quickstep	Adam Rippon	28	Tonya Harding	24
Team dances	Jennie Finch Daigle Mirai Nagasu Arike Ogunbowale Adam Rippon	27	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Tonya Harding Chris Mazdzer Josh Norman	24
Rumba	Tonya Harding	24	"?	"?
Contemporary	Adam Rippon	29	Josh Norman	27
Jazz	Adam Rippon	30	"?	"?
Freestyle	Tonya Harding Josh Norman	30	Adam Rippon	28

Couples' highest and lowest scoring dances

Scores are based upon a potential 30-point maximum (team dances and scores by guest judges are excluded).

Couple	Highest scoring dance(s)	Lowest scoring dance(s)
Adam & Jenna	Jazz (30)	Cha-cha-cha (24)
Josh & Sharna	Freestyle (30)	Paso doble (23)
Tonya & Sasha	Freestyle (30)	Foxtrot (23)
Jennie & Keo	Foxtrot & Viennese waltz (21)	Cha-cha-cha (19)
Chris & Witney	Viennese waltz (25)	Salsa (21)
Mirai & Alan	Foxtrot (27)	Salsa (23)
Kareem & Lindsay	Salsa (19)	Cha-cha-cha (17)
Arike & Gleb	Foxtrot (24)	Salsa (20)
Jamie & Artem	Viennese waltz (19)	"?
Johnny & Emma	Foxtrot (18)	"?

Weekly scores

Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

Week 1: First Dances

The couples danced the cha-cha-cha, foxtrot, salsa or Viennese waltz.

For the first time in the show's history, viewers were able to vote for the couples live online so that the results of the vote could be used to determine the first two eliminees that same evening.

Running order

Couple	Scores	Dance	Music	Result
Chris & Witney	21 (7, 7, 7)	Salsa	"Mr. Put It Down""?Ricky Martin feat. Pitbull	Safe
Kareem & Lindsay	17 (6, 5, 6)	Cha-cha-cha	"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours""?Stevie Wonder	Safe
Jennie & Keo	21 (7, 7, 7)	Foxtrot	"All-American Girl""?Carrie Underwood	Safe
Jamie & Artem	19 (6, 7, 6)	Viennese waltz	"Feeling Good""?Avicii feat. Audra Mae	Eliminated
Mirai & Alan	23 (7, 8, 8)	Salsa	"No Excuses""?Meghan Trainor	Safe
Arike & Gleb	20 (7, 6, 7)	Salsa	"Them Girls""?Whitney Myer	Safe
Adam & Jenna	24 (8, 8, 8)	Cha-cha-cha	"Sissy That Walk""?RuPaul	Safe
Johnny & Emma	18 (6, 6, 6)	Foxtrot	"Centerfield""?John Fogerty	Eliminated
Tonya & Sasha	23 (8, 8, 7)	Foxtrot	"When You Believe""?Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey	Last to be called safe
Josh & Sharna	24 (8, 8, 8)	Cha-cha-cha	"Finesse""?Bruno Mars	Safe

Week 2

Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Rashad Jennings, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

The couples performed one unlearned dance and a team dance celebrating an iconic decade in sports. Paso doble and quickstep are introduced.

Running order

Couple	Scores	Dance	Music	Result
Josh & Sharna	30 (7, 7, 8, 8)	Paso doble	"The Plaza of Execution""?James Horner	Safe
Jennie & Keo	26 (6, 7, 7, 6)	Cha-cha-cha	"Do It Like This""?Daphne Willis	Safe
Kareem & Lindsay	26 (7, 7, 6, 6)	Salsa	"La Malanga""?Eddie Palmieri	Eliminated
Chris & Witney	33 (9, 8, 8, 8)	Viennese waltz	"Next to Me""?Imagine Dragons	Last to be called safe
Tonya & Sasha	33 (8, 9, 8, 8)	Quickstep	"Redneck Woman""?Gretchen Wilson	Safe
Mirai & Alan	37 (9, 10, 9, 9)	Foxtrot	"It's a Small World""?The O'Neill Brothers	Safe
Arike & Gleb	33 (8, 9, 8, 8)	Foxtrot	"What About Us""?Pink	Eliminated
Adam & Jenna	37 (9, 9, 9, 10)	Quickstep	"Make Way""?Aloe Blacc	Safe
Chris & Witney Josh & Sharna Kareem & Lindsay Tonya & Sasha	33 (8, 9, 8, 8)	Freestyle (Team 1950s Tennis)	"...Baby One More Time""?The Baseballs
Adam & Jenna Arike & Gleb Jennie & Keo Mirai & Alan	37 (9, 10, 9, 9)	Freestyle (Team 1970s Football)	"Instant Replay""?Dan Hartman

Week 3: MVP Night (Semifinals)

Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, David Ross, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

The couples performed one unlearned dance dedicated to the "MVP" in their lives, and participated in "ballroom battle" dance-offs for extra points. Former contestants were brought in to mentor the couples for the ballroom battles. Nastia Liukin mentored Jennie & Keo and Tonya & Sasha. Meryl Davis mentored Adam & Jenna and Mirai & Alan. Von Miller mentored Chris & Witney and Josh & Sharna. Contemporary, jive and rumba are introduced.

Running order

Couple	Scores	Dance	Music	Result
Mirai & Alan	35 (9, 9, 8, 9)	Quickstep	"BO$$""?Fifth Harmony	Eliminated
Jennie & Keo	29 (7, 8, 7, 7)	Viennese waltz	"The Rest of Our Life""?Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
Chris & Witney	33 (8, 9, 7, 9)	Foxtrot	"I Got Rhythm""?Ray Chew
Tonya & Sasha	33 (8, 9, 8, 8)	Rumba	"See You Again""?Tyler Ward	Safe
Adam & Jenna	39 (10, 10, 9, 10)	Contemporary	"O""?Coldplay	Safe
Josh & Sharna	36 (9, 9, 9, 9)	Contemporary	"Stand by Me""?Bootstraps	Last to be called safe

Dance-offs

Couple	Judges' votes	Public vote	Dance	Music	Result
Tonya & Sasha	Tonya, Jennie, Tonya, Tonya	Jennie (60%)	Cha-cha-cha	"Dance""?DNCE	Winner (2 pts)
Jennie & Keo					Loser
Adam & Jenna	Adam, Mirai, Mirai, Adam	Adam (64%)	Jive	"Johnny B. Goode""?Chuck Berry	Winner (2 pts)
Mirai & Alan					Loser
Josh & Sharna	Chris, Josh, Josh, Josh	Chris (55%)	Salsa	"WTF (Where They From)""?Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell Williams	Winner (2 pts)
Chris & Witney					Loser

Week 4: Finals

The final three couples performed one unlearned dance inspired by their journey on the show and a freestyle. Jazz is introduced.

Running order

Couple	Scores	Dance	Music	Result
Tonya & Sasha	26 (8, 9, 9)	Viennese waltz	"The Time of My Life""?David Cook	Third Place
	30 (10, 10, 10)	Freestyle	"Hush Hush; Hush Hush""?The Pussycat Dolls
Josh & Sharna	27 (9, 9, 9)	Foxtrot	"Conqueror""?Empire cast feat. Estelle & Jussie Smollett	Runner-Up
	30 (10, 10, 10)	Freestyle	"Walk on Water""?Thirty Seconds to Mars
Adam & Jenna	30 (10, 10, 10)	Jazz	"Anything You Can Do""?Bernadette Peters & Tom Wopat	Winners
	28 (9, 9, 10)	Freestyle	"Scooby Doo Pa Pa""?DJ Kass

Dance chart

The celebrities and professional partners will dance one of these routines for each corresponding week:

• Week 1: Cha-cha-cha, foxtrot, salsa, or Viennese waltz (First Dances)
• Week 2: One unlearned dance & team dances
• Week 3: One unlearned dance & ballroom battles (MVP Night; Semifinals)
• Week 4: One unlearned dance & freestyle (Finals)

Couple	Week 1	Week 2		Week 3		Week 4
Adam & Jenna	Cha-cha-cha	Quickstep	Freestyle	Contemporary	Jive	Jazz	Freestyle
Josh & Sharna	Cha-cha-cha	Paso doble	Freestyle	Contemporary	Salsa	Foxtrot	Freestyle
Tonya & Sasha	Foxtrot	Quickstep	Freestyle	Rumba	Cha-cha-cha	Viennese waltz	Freestyle
Jennie & Keo	Foxtrot	Cha-cha-cha	Freestyle	Viennese waltz	Cha-cha-cha
Chris & Witney	Salsa	Viennese waltz	Freestyle	Foxtrot	Salsa
Mirai & Alan	Salsa	Foxtrot	Freestyle	Quickstep	Jive
Kareem & Lindsay	Cha-cha-cha	Salsa	Freestyle
Arike & Gleb	Salsa	Foxtrot	Freestyle
Jamie & Artem	Viennese waltz
Johnny & Emma	Foxtrot

Highest scoring dance

Lowest scoring dance

Gained bonus points for winning this dance-off

Gained no bonus points for losing this dance-off

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Episode		Air date	Rating/Share (18-49)		Viewers (millions)
1	"Week 1: Premiere"	April 30, 2018	1.1	5	8.48
2	"Week 2"	May 7, 2018	1.0	4	7.73
3	"Week 3: MVP Night (Semifinals)"	May 14, 2018	1.0	4	7.68
4	"Week 4: The Finals"	May 21, 2018	1.1	5	8.77

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