The two-time Olympic medalist is ready to hit the dance floor!
Dancing With the Stars’ all-athlete season just added another Olympian to its ranks!
A source tells ET that softball star Jennie Finch will be joining the upcoming, sports-centric season of DWTS.
“They’ve actually been wanting her on the show for years!” the source said of Finch’s casting. “Finally it’s working out and everyone is very excited. She’s great on camera and very competitive. She will be the one to beat.”
Finch, a right-handed pitched and first baseman originally from La Mirada, California, won the 2001 Women’s College World Series with the Arizona Wildcats, and helped lead Team USA to softball gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver in 2008, before the sport was dropped by the International Olympic Committee. She later pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) softball league.
The 37-year-old softball star will be squaring off against several other Olympic veterans on Dancing With the Stars: Athletes. ET learned on Wednesday that figure skaters Tonya Harding and Adam Rippon, as well as snowboarder Jamie Anderson, will be competing on the four-week, mini-edition of the ABC dance competition series.
ET spoke with Rippon last month about the possibility of him showing off his dance moves on DWTS, and though he played coy, he didn't deny it.
"I think it would be a great opportunity and it would be really fun," he said during a Facebook Live interview. "It would be really fun. I've always wanted to learn how to dance, because I've just been a solo act, like a one-man show."
"Usually I'm a crazy person, like really outgoing, kinda, like, loud, so when I go out, I'll just start dancing a little bit and I'll be having a good time and usually people think like, 'Oh, she's crazy,'" he continued, poking fun at his dance skills. "They're not wrong, but usually it looks like I'm going to hurt myself. And that's by myself! I don't know what kind of insurance [there is]."
Dancing With the Stars' all-athlete competition premieres Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. As we patiently wait to find out which other stars will be competing, check out the video below to see more on the upcoming season!
Reporting by Darla Murray.
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