© Craig Sjodin/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC)
To vote for Johnson, call 800-VOTE4-09 (800-86834-09), text VOTE to 3409 (AT&T mobile customers only) or go to the “Dancing with the Stars” Web site. Remember that voting opens at the beginning of each performance show.
2008 Olympic gold-medalist Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, makes her dancing debut during the two-hour premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” on Monday, March 9, at 8 p.m. ET. She will perform the waltz with partner Mark Ballas, a professional dancer who won the show’s sixth season with another Olympic gold medalist, 1992 Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi.
Gymnastics fans can vote for Johnson by phone, text or online beginning at the start of each performance show. Phone and text lines will stay open for 30 minutes after the end of the program, and online voting will remain open until 12 p.m. ET on the day after the performance show. The results show premieres on Tuesday, March 17.
A total of 13 celebrities were announced for “Dancing with the Stars” eighth season, including: Belinda Carlisle (singer), David Alan Grier (comedian), Jewel (singer), Lil’ Kim (singer), Gilles Marini (actor), Nancy O’Dell (anchor), Denise Richards (actress), Steve-O (comedian), Lawrence Taylor (football), Ty Murray (rodeo), Chuck Wicks (singer) and Steve Wozniak (Apple Computers).
In total, Johnson won four medals at the 2008 Olympic Games: gold on the balance beam, and silver in the team competition, all-around and floor exercise. Also in 2008, she won the all-around titles at both the 2008 Visa Championships and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics. At the 2007 World Championships, Johnson won the all-around title. She joined Kim Zmeskal (1991), Shannon Miller (1993-94) and Chellsie Memmel (2005) as the only U.S. women to win a world all-around title. Johnson also helped the U.S. women win the team gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, which was just the second world team title in U.S. history and the first won at a World Championships held outside of the United States. She also added a gold medal on floor exercise.
Season eight schedule for “Dancing with the Stars” is: performance show is on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, March 9 through May 18; the results show is on Tuesdays, at 9 p.m., ET, March 17 through May 12; and the season finale is Tuesday, May 19, at 9 p.m. ET.