Three Team USA Athletes To Compete On Dancing With The Stars

Team USA Olympians once again headline the cast of the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars, and for the first time a U.S. Paralympian will take to the dance floor as well, as the show hits the airwaves March 17 with ice-dancing gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White and para-snowboarder Amy Purdy.

The show, entering its 18th season, has featured several Olympians over the years, including champions Shawn Johnson (gymnastics, Season 8), Apolo Anton Ohno (short track speedskating, Season 4) and Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skating, Season 6). Olympic gold medalist Evan Lyscaek (figure skating, Season 10) finished as runner-up, while Johnson returned for the all-star season (Season 15) to finish runner-up.

Davis and White made Olympic history in Sochi last month when they became the first Americans to win the gold medal in ice dancing. Having grown up and skated together for 17 years, they are ready to compete against each other for the first time on the show. Davis will dance with Maksim Chmerkovskiy while White will team up with Sharna Burgess.

Purdy, meanwhile, is making her Paralympic debut this month in Sochi in the sport of para-snowboarding. She will hit the slopes in Sochi March 14 and then head straight to Los Angeles to compete with Derek Hough, five-time Dancing with the Stars pro champion. Purdy will be making her second showing on a reality television show as she was formerly a contestant on The Amazing Race.