Dancing with the Stars has finally revealed the official runners-up of the series athletes edition after a shortened finale did not leave time for an announcement during the show’s May 21 season ender.
Diehard fans of the show were left wondering which of the runner-up couples, Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber or Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess, actually came in second to Olympic athlete Adam Rippon and pro-Jenna Johnson.
Normally, the series announces the second and third place finishers prior to announcing the show’s big winner. According to Entertainment Tonight , a spokesperson for BBC Studios, which produces the show, confirmed the final scoring order.
“Due to time constraints, we were unable to announce the Mirrorball runners-up during the live show of the Dancing with the Stars: Athletes ‘ finale,” they said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight .
“The combination of the judges’ scores and America’s votes resulted in football cornerback Josh Norman and his partner Sharna Burgess placing second, and ice skating Olympian Tonya Harding and her partner, Sasha Farber, placing third.”
But there seem to be no hard feelings from the former Olympic skater, who has experienced a career resurgence after the debut of I, Tonya , an Oscar-winning film detailing her early life and career.
Margot Robbie portrayed Tonya in the film and Allison Janney scored an Academy Award for her characterization of Tonya’s mother LaVona Golden.
ET spoke to Tonya after Adam was announced as the winner, and she revealed that although she would have liked to have taken home a mirrorball, Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson were “absolutely” the right winners.
“They brought it home every week,” she said. “Adam is wonderful and his partner, I mean, they deserved it.”
Fans of the ice skating superstar were eager to have her vindicated after a career that was once full of hope and promise went horribly awry.
On January 6, 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked while training for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The assailants struck her in the knee with a metal baton, leaving her injured and unable to compete.
Her chief rival, Tonya Harding, skated to victory and as both women prepared to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics, rumors began circulating that Tonya was involved in the assault.
Days later, police arrested Tonya’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and three of his friends as suspects in the attack. Later, at a press conference, Tonya revealed she had no prior knowledge of the planned assault on Nancy.
Despite this, Tonya was allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Nancy, who had recovered well enough to compete, took home a silver medal and Tonya finished a disappointing eighth.