Figure skater Amber Glenn and Para track and field athlete Ezra Frech will compete on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, marking the first time in the show’s history that an Olympic gold medalist and a Paralympic gold medalist will appear in the same season.
Glenn could become the fourth figure skater to win the Mirrorball Trophy.
The 26-year-old from Plano, Texas, won the last three U.S. figure skating titles. At her Olympic debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, Glenn won team event gold and finished fifth individually.
In April, Glenn said she did not want to stop competing “as long as my body keeps going and is healthy.”
In June, the International Skating Union announced the entry lists for the fall 2026 Grand Prix season. Glenn was assigned to Saatva Skate America and the NHK Trophy in Japan, the fourth and sixth stops of the six-event regular season. Both competitions are scheduled for November.
The first episode of Dancing with the Stars is scheduled for Sept. 15. In recent years, seasons have continued into late November or early December for contestants who reach the final four.
Glenn has not announced how her participation in Dancing with the Stars will affect her figure skating competition schedule.
Ezra Frech joins the Dancing with the Stars cast
Frech, a Los Angeles native who is bidding for the 2028 LA Games, won gold in the T63 100-meter race and high jump at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
He is the first Paralympian to compete on Dancing with the Stars since Alpine skier Danelle Umstead in 2018. Frech is also the second Summer Paralympian and Paralympic gold medalist to compete on the show, following swimmer Victoria Arlen in 2017.
At least one Olympian competed in most seasons of Dancing with the Stars dating back to the show’s debut in 2005.
All 10 figure skaters who previously competed on Dancing with the Stars had finished their elite-level careers by the time they appeared on the show, although some had not yet publicly announced their retirements.
The most recent figure skater to compete was 2006 and 2010 Olympian Johnny Weir in 2020.
Figure skaters who have won Dancing with the Stars include Kristi Yamaguchi in 2008, Meryl Davis in 2014 and Adam Rippon in 2018.
Olympians and Paralympians on Dancing with the Stars
- Season 1: Evander Holyfield (1984, boxing)
- Season 4: Apolo Ohno (2002-2010, short track speed skating) — WINNER; Clyde Drexler (1992, basketball)
- Season 5: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (1996, boxing)
- Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi (1992, figure skating) — WINNER; Monica Seles (1996-2000, tennis)
- Season 7: Maurice Greene (2000-2004, track and field); Misty May-Treanor (2000-2012, volleyball)
- Season 8: Shawn Johnson (2008, gymnastics) — WINNER
- Season 9: Louie Vito (2010, snowboarding); Natalie Coughlin (2004-2012, swimming)
- Season 10: Evan Lysacek (2006-2010, figure skating)
- Season 12: Sugar Ray Leonard (1976, boxing)
- Season 13: Hope Solo (2004-2016, soccer)
- Season 14: Martina Navratilova (2004, tennis)
- Season 15: Shawn Johnson; Apolo Ohno
- Season 16: Dorothy Hamill (1976, figure skating); Aly Raisman (2012-2016, gymnastics)
- Season 18: Meryl Davis (2010-2014, figure skating) — WINNER; Charlie White (2010-2014, figure skating); Amy Purdy (2014-18, Para snowboarding)
- Season 19: Lolo Jones (2008, 2012, 2014, track and field/bobsled)
- Season 20: Nastia Liukin (2008, gymnastics)
- Season 23: Laurie Hernandez (2016, gymnastics) — WINNER; Ryan Lochte (2004-2016, swimming)
- Season 24: Simone Biles (2016-2024, gymnastics); Nancy Kerrigan (1992-94, figure skating)
- Season 25: Victoria Arlen (2012, Para swimming)
- Season 26: Jamie Anderson (2014-22, snowboarding); Jennie Finch (2004-08, softball); Chris Mazdzer (2010-22, luge); Mirai Nagasu (2010, 2018, figure skating); Tonya Harding (1992-94, figure skating); Adam Rippon (2018, figure skating) — WINNER
- Season 27: Danelle Umstead (2010-22, Para Alpine skiing); Mary Lou Retton (1984, gymnastics)
- Season 28: Lamar Odom (2004, basketball)
- Season 29: Johnny Weir (2006-10, figure skating)
- Season 30: Suni Lee (2020-24, gymnastics)
- Season 33: Dwight Howard (2008, basketball); Ilona Maher (2020-24, rugby sevens); Stephen Nedoroscik (2024, gymnastics)
- Season 34: Jordan Chiles (2020-24, gymnastics)
- Season 35: Ezra Frech (2020-2024, Para track and field); Amber Glenn (2026, figure skating)
Alysa Liu takes a break from figure skating competition
Alysa Liu is taking time to recalibrate, “then I’ll be back.”
