"Dancing with the Stars" Season 23 recently crowned its new celebrity dancing champions. Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez and pro-dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy were chosen as the winners of the ABC dance competition.
Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy were among the strongest dancing pairs in the ABC competition "Dancing with the Stars" (DWTS) Season 23. Viewers witnessed how the dancing couple showed off impressive moves over the two-month show. With nearly perfect scores towards the latter part of the competition, Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy consistently displayed their dancing prowess.
Having bested contenders Sharna Burgess and race car driver James Hinchcliffe, as well as football athlete Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold, Hernandez was ecstatic over her DWTS win. In an interview with USA Today, the 16-year-old Olympic gymnast admitted how winning the ABC competition was similar to achieving her goal to get a gold medal in the Olympics.
With a passion for dancing and gymnastics, the Olympics and DWTS linked both of Hernandez's avid interests together. She stated, "Honestly, I feel like they tied (with) each other ... I've always loved to dance and my passion was dancing as well as gymnastics, so winning the mirrorball (trophy) ... was insane and amazing."
Two-time "Dancing with the Stars" champion Chmerkovskiy shared in a previous interview that he wanted Hernandez to become a role model on how to be competitive yet remain humble about achievements. The gymnast agreed with the pro dancer's statement and mentioned how she would also want to inspire other people with her DWTS journey. She shared, "When I was a little kid, I looked up to other people, so I hope I can inspire little kids."
In other news, "Dancing with the Stars" Season 23 posted low TV ratings, according to Nielsen, as cited by Variety. Compared to the previous year, viewership ratings were down 25 percent in the 18-49 demographic, while the total number of viewers dropped 19 percent.
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 23 aired its final episode on Nov. 22, Tuesday on ABC. Watch Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy's fusion dance performance during the finale below: