LOS ANGELES – Two-time Olympic gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno of Seattle has won a totally different kind of trophy: “Dancing With the Stars” champion.
The speed skater and his partner, Julianne Hough, beat out former ‘N Sync star Joey Fatone to win the ABC dance-off’s mirror-ball trophy Tuesday.
“I feel amazing,” the ebullient Ohno said. “You put your mind to something, you give 100 percent, sacrifice and dedication, anything is possible.”
Ohno, 25, became a technical master during the season, training in the dance studio as he would on the ice.
“Apolo’s competitiveness is almost on the verge of insanity,” his coach, John Schaeffer, said on Tuesday’s show.
Fatone, 30, was the season’s undisputed showman. He used a light saber for a “Star Wars” themed tango and wore breakaway clothes and a sparkly gold suit for his freestyle dance.
“Congratulations to them. Well deserved,” he said to Ono and Hough, adding, “I feel like a winner.”
Being on the show “has been an amazing journey,” Fatone said: “It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.”
None of the show’s contestants are expert dancers. Each becomes the student and performing partner of a professional dancer throughout the 10-week season. Three judges rate each couple’s ballroom- and Latin-dance skills while viewers weigh in by phone and Internet. The combined tallies determine which couple is eliminated each week.
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