Plot Synopsis

American stars of entertainment, sports, fashion and pop culture are paired with professional dancers, and the dancing pairs compete against each other in weekly dancing elimination challenges. Each week the couple with the smallest number of points -- a combination of scores from a panel of judges and audience votes -- is sent home. Previous winners are: Kelly Monaco (Season 1); Drew Lachey (Season 2); Emmit Smith (Season 3); Apolo Anton Ohno (Season 4); Helio Castroneves (Season 5); Kristi Yamaguchi (Season 6); Brooke Burke (Season 7); Shawn Johnson (Season 8); Donny Osmond (Season 9); Nicole Scherzinger (Season 10); Jennifer Grey (Season 11); Hines Ward (Season 12); J.R. Martinez (Season 13); Donald Driver (Season 14: All-Stars); Melissa Rycroft (Season 15); Kellie Pickler (Season 16); Amber Riley (Season 17); Meryl Davis (Season 18); and Alfonso Ribeiro (Season 19); Rumer Willis (Season 20); Bindi Irwin (Season 21); Nyle DiMarco (Season 22); Laurie Hernandez (Season 23); Rashad Jennings (Season 24).
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Get ready, sports fans, for the most competitive season of DANCING WITH THE STARS ever as the show fires up the scoreboard and welcomes 10 athletes to sparkle up their uniforms and lace up their dancing shoes as they ready themselves for their first dance on the ballroom floor, on the season premiere of DANCING WITH THE STARS: ATHLETES on Monday, April 30, 2018 from 8-10pm ET/PT on ABC. This season's lineup of athletes includes three Olympic figure skaters, a former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, an Olympic gold medal-winning softball player, a Notre Dame women's basketball national championship hero, an American luger, a gold medal-winning Olympic snowboarder, a former World Series-winning Major League Baseball player and an NFL cornerback. The athletes with their professional dance partners heading to the ballroom this season are (in alphabetical order):

- Adam Rippon with Jenna Johnson
- Arike Ogunbowale with Gleb Savchenko
- Chris Mazdzer with Witney Carson
- Jamie Anderson with Artem Chigvintsev
- Jennie Finch Daigle with Keo Motsepe
- Johnny Damon with Emma Slater
- Josh Norman with Sharna Burgess
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Lindsay Arnold
- Mirai Nagasu with Alan Bersten
- Tonya Harding with Sasha Farber