Saturday, April 28, 2018

Mirai Nagasu - from the skating rink to the dance floor

ABC
Figure skater Mirai Nagasu with her dance partner, Alan Bersten.
WELL, she got her wish. Mirai Nagasu is trading in her blades for high heels as she competes in Dancing With the Stars.

Remember when U.S. Olympic figure skater Mirai Naagasu made a joke about being on Dancing With the Stars? 

She got ripped for joking around when she failed to perform up to her best. She flubbed her triple axel in the individual free skate to help the U.S. team get a bronze medal. Her historic performance raised hope for a medal in the individual performances.


Back in February, in the heat of the Olympic competition, she failed to medal in the individual competition. She wasn't alone. All three of the U.S. women's figure skater performed below expectations. Mirai was unable to repeat the triple axel. She ended up in 10th place.

The 25-year old Southern Californian was disappointed and tired and in one interview, she quipped that the Olympics was just an audition for Dancing With the Stars “because I want to be a star.”

It looks like Mirai gets the last laugh.

“I think I’ve literally cried my way through these Olympic Games,” she tells PEOPLE in an interview one day after her final performance in Gangneung, South Korea. “It’s been an experience that I will never forget.”

This season of the popular dance competition will feature all athletes. Mirai will be competing agains the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tonya Harding, Johnny Damon and fellow Winter Olympians: snow boarder Jamie Anderson, luger Chris Mazdzer, figure skater and close fiend Adam Rippon and more

"Since it's so competitive, we're trying to hit the ground running," said Alan Bersten, Mirai's partner and dance coach. "We're not even doing a Week 1 dance, we're doing a Week 7 dance," which will be the salsa.

While Mirai admits she's a little uncomfortable on the dance floor but she is ready to be a dance champion.

"I fall all the time, but I get back up and keep going," she said.

Dancing with the Stars: Athletes premieres Monday, April 30 on ABC, 8 p.m. ET.______________________________________________________________________________

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