The 17-year-old gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa, grew in leaps and bounds and in Dancing with the Stars was remade a ballroom dance superstar. This happen of course because of the guidance of partner Mark Ballas. Though she was tied with Gilles coming into Tuesday night’s finale, the voters ultimately gave spry Shawn the advantage: Maybe it was because of her perfect-30 freestyle routine the night before. Or as a reward for how far she’s come out of her shell. Or maybe it was a vote for America. Whatever the reason, that 18-inch globe of glittery goodness, the coveted Mirrorball trophy — the highest honor in reality TV about ballroom dancing — is hers.
Shawn not only is the youngest competitor ever to win this much-esteemed honor, but she also made good on Apolo Anton Ohno’s bold claim that no Olympian who had made the finals had ever not won their season. Shoot, as an Olympian, maybe she thrived on that pressure. And yay to Mark Ballas as well for winning his second “DWTS” title with his second “DWTS” Olympian and joining Cheryl Burke and Julianne Hough as repeat pro winners. Do you think this’ll make buddy and bandmate Derek Hough that much hungrier to win the following cycle?
The road to this victory was long and hard. Segments about the judges sizing up the final three, previous contestants sizing up the final three, and the final three sizing up the final three.
The show wanted to make it seem like Shawn, Melissa and Gilles were being judged one last time. And they were. But the fact that they all got perfect 30s for their cha cha, samba and Argentine tango, respectively, negated any chance of the judges’ scores upsetting any sort of voting turnout. They were basically all in the same places they were last night, right? It was fun to see all three couples perform their favorite dances, and I admired Team Shark’s decision to perform a routine that earned them a 28, rather than the perfect-30 routines chosen by Melissa and Gilles. And Tony’s decision to embrace Bruno at the end of his and Melissa’s samba routine, rather than Melissa.
But as we neared the end of the second hour, it was revealed that Melissa and Tony were the third-place finishers. Though when they announced the Season 8 champ, both Shawn and Mark clasped their mouths in disbelief, and Mark fell to the floor in shock. Gilles was a gracious runner-up, only saying words of praise for Shawn, Cheryl and this competition.
