Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas appeared on this year’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Credit: ABC
Gymnast Aly Raisman, who captured gold at last year’s Summer Olympics before catapulting into a stint on “Dancing with the Stars,” says there’s no unfair advantage that gymnasts and other athletes have over other contestants on the hit ABC show.
“Dancing is so different than doing floor routine — your priority [there] is tumbling, and then out there it’s dancing with your partner and being in sync with them,” says the pintsize powerhouse, who was on hand to open the 92 St. Y’s new skyline gymnastics studio in New York on Sunday. “Gymnastics has nothing to do with cha cha, rumba or samba — it’s like the exact opposite.”
And just because she’s an athlete doesn’t mean she’s not a klutz like the rest of us. “People think we’re coordinated because we twist, we do all this stuff, but we’re really not,” she adds. “We just trip and fall all the time, we’re so clumsy sometimes.”
Raisman says she has been following this season, watching it on YouTube because she’s practicing when it airs at night. She’s mum on which celebs she thinks will make it to the finals, but there is one pro whom she’s confident could capture this year’s Mirror Ball trophy.
“I feel like Derek [Hough] is in his own league — he’s amazing,” she says. “He’s won three times and he’s been in the finals a bunch of times, so I think he’s definitely one to watch.”
