Olympic gold-medal gymnast Sunisa Lee is looking to add to her athletic credentials and have her name beside Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Apolo Ohno and Laurie Hernandez by winning "Dancing With the Stars."
Lee and pop star Jojo Siwa were the first two competitors announced for the ABC competition show. The rest of the cast will be announced on Sept. 8. The 30th season of the show premiers Sept. 20 on ABC (ABC and ESPN are owned by the Walt Disney Co.).
In late July, following Simone Biles' withdrawal from the women's gymnastics all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Lee put together a masterful performance to defeat Brazilian Rebeca Andrade for the gold medal. It was the fifth straight Olympics in which an American woman won the all-around title.
Suni's got moves, but can she stick the landing on #DWTS? 🏅🌟 @sunisalee_ pic.twitter.com/i4Lc3c6NP2
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@DancingABC) August 26, 2021
Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee is also the first American of Hmong descent to win an Olympic medal.
Lee is not the first gymnast to participate in the dancing competition. Gold medalists Biles and Nastia Liukin, along with Hernandez, have competed in the show. In 2016, Hernandez paired with Val Chmerkovskiy to win the competition.
"Dancing With the Stars" has a long history of athletes competing and succeeding. Smith and Ward, both Super Bowl winners, won in 2006 and 2011, respectively. IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves won in 2007. Ohno, Hernandez and Olympians Shawn Johnson, Meryl Davis and Kristi Yamaguchi also competed on the show.
Siwa, who recently came out as a member of the LGBTQ community, will be paired with a female partner, the first time the competition will have a same-sex partnership.