In an odd turn of events, the lat remaining men on “Dancing with the Stars” — who are also prominent athletes who won their first seasons on the show — were eliminated by fan votes, making way for a guaranteed female winner of the mirror ball trophy for the first time in four seasons.
The elimination Tuesday of Apolo Anton Ohno and Emmitt Smith, who had each won their inaugural seasons, leaves just Kelly Monaco, Shawn Johnson and Melissa Rycroft going into the finals next week.
Both Kelly and Shawn won their initial seasons, but Melissa only third in season 11. Of the three, shawn has the highest average score, with Melissa close behind. but four different dancers who went before her had higher average judges’ scores than Kelly, who also tied for lowest score from judges Monday.
The winner will be determined from a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes.