Raising the Roof!

It seems that yet another world class gymnast is attempting to find glory in reality television - but this time across the pond! The last 6 months have seen success from 2 of Britain's greatest ever Olympic gymnasts Louis Smith in Strictly Come Dancing and Beth Tweddle in Dancing on Ice. Now we see 2 time Olympic gold medallist and US team captain Aly Raisman competing in US Strictly equivalent: Dancing With the Stars. Aly Raisman and her partner Mark Ballas (above) Aly has been tipped by the American Press and public as a star of the show, with much pressure on her she is aiming to fill the shoes of 3 other Olympic athletes who have gone on to win the competition; Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson. Indeed the three time Olympic medallist has remained a consistent high scorer, even topping the leaderboard in the first week with a score of 21. However she will need to work hard to keep up with the competition; country music singer Kellie Pickler has finished atop the leaderboard in both of the last 2 weeks, proving herself an early favourite. Of course as a reigning Olympic champion, with all of her commitment and sporting prowess we might expect Aly Raisman to excel in the latter stages of the show, taking the competition's prized Mirror Ball trophy. But how should we view this next gymnastic attempt at reality TV fame? Rather than observing it with a hint of Olympic bitterness, in an 'Our gymnasts are better dancers than yours' way, surely we should keep a hopeful eye on the Web, with confidence of yet more success for a gymnast in another aspect of the Public Eye? After all, surely any victory can only be positive for Gymnastics, which can only lead to an even brighter future for the sport. Aly Raisman and partner Mark Ballas dancing the Viennese Waltz in week 3. The pair earned a respectable 23 points for their beautiful routine. (above) To keep up to date with Aly's progress on the show click here