A Dancing with the Stars first: How Olympic champion Amber Glenn, Paralympic gold medalist Ezra Frech are breaking a new barrier between two worlds of elite sport

For the first time in Dancing with the Stars history, an Olympic gold medalist and a Paralympic gold medalist will compete side by side in the same season.

Figure skater Amber Glenn and Para track and field star Ezra Frech are bringing two very different sporting journeys to the ballroom for Season 35 of ABC's hit dance competition. Their appearance is more than another celebrity casting announcement — it creates a rare crossover between Olympic and Paralympic sport on one of television's biggest stages.

The full Season 35 cast was announced Wednesday, with Glenn paired with professional dancer Pasha Pashkov and Frech partnered with Daniella Karagach. The new season begins with a two-night premiere on September 15 and 16.

Two champions arrive with very different stories

Glenn enters the ballroom only months after reaching the biggest stage in figure skating.

The 26-year-old Texan captured Olympic gold with Team USA in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. She also finished fifth in the individual women's competition, adding another major achievement to a career that has already included three consecutive U.S. national titles.

Her transition to Dancing with the Stars comes while her competitive skating career is still active, making her participation particularly intriguing.

Glenn is scheduled for the 2026-27 Grand Prix season, with assignments at Skate America and the NHK Trophy in Japan in November. How her ballroom commitment will fit alongside those skating competitions remains a key question.

Frech brings Paralympic success to the ballroom

Frech arrives with an equally impressive résumé.

The 21-year-old Los Angeles native won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, taking the T63 100-meter title and the high jump crown. He is also a world-record holder and has built a profile beyond competition as an advocate, motivational speaker and supporter of adaptive sports.

Born with congenital limb differences, Frech has used his athletic career to encourage greater participation in adaptive sports. He is also a co-founder of Angel City Sports, an organization focused on creating opportunities for athletes with disabilities.

Now he faces an entirely different challenge: learning choreography under the bright lights of the DWTS ballroom.

Why this season stands out

Olympians have been a familiar presence on Dancing with the Stars since the show's early seasons.

Gymnasts, swimmers, boxers, figure skaters, snowboarders and athletes from numerous other sports have competed for the Mirrorball Trophy. Several have gone all the way, including figure skaters Kristi Yamaguchi, Meryl Davis and Adam Rippon.

But Season 35 introduces a distinction the show has never had before.

Glenn represents Olympic winter sport, while Frech represents the Paralympic movement. Both arrive as gold medalists, but their athletic backgrounds could not be more different.

That contrast gives the upcoming season a storyline that goes well beyond who can master a foxtrot or survive the first elimination.

Figure skating already has a strong DWTS history

Glenn also has history working in her favor.

Figure skaters have generally performed well on the show. Yamaguchi won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2008, Davis followed with a victory in 2014, and Rippon won the all-athletes season in 2018.

Other elite skaters, including Evan Lysacek, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, Mirai Nagasu and Johnny Weir, have also appeared on the program.

The timing of Glenn's participation, however, makes her situation unusual. Previous elite figure skaters generally competed on Dancing with the Stars after their competitive careers had ended or were winding down.

Glenn is taking on the ballroom while still connected to the international skating circuit.

Frech continues a growing Paralympic presence

Frech is also part of a relatively small group of Paralympians who have appeared on the show.

He follows Alpine skier Danelle Umstead, who competed in 2018, and swimmer Victoria Arlen, who appeared in 2017.

His participation also continues the show's gradual expansion of representation from adaptive sports. Rather than being defined solely by his disability, Frech arrives as an elite athlete with multiple major titles and records already attached to his name.

The ballroom now provides a new platform for him to introduce that story to an audience that may not have followed his track and field career.

From medals to the Mirrorball Trophy

The transition from elite sport to competitive dance may sound natural for an athlete such as Glenn, whose career depends heavily on balance, coordination and body control.

But Dancing with the Stars demands a different kind of athleticism.

Contestants have to learn unfamiliar choreography, perform under time pressure and adapt to styles that can be dramatically different from their sporting disciplines.

For Frech, the challenge will be equally fascinating. His success has been built around explosive athletic events, while ballroom dancing requires precision, rhythm, partnering and storytelling.

Both athletes will therefore enter the competition with impressive physical credentials — but neither can rely on a gold medal once the music starts.

Season 35 brings a new kind of sports crossover

The significance of Glenn and Frech sharing the DWTS stage extends beyond television.

Olympic and Paralympic athletes have increasingly appeared together in public campaigns, entertainment and promotional events, but seeing champions from both movements compete in the same season provides another highly visible point of connection.

Their participation also gives viewers an opportunity to see elite athletes outside the environments where they became famous.

Glenn will trade her skates for ballroom shoes, while Frech will exchange the track and field arena for a dance floor.

Both are accustomed to pressure, competition and performing in front of huge audiences. This time, however, they will be judged on something neither has a medal for yet.

The Mirrorball challenge begins September 15

Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars premieres with a two-night event on September 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu. Glenn will dance with Pasha Pashkov, while Frech will compete alongside Daniella Karagach.

For Glenn, the goal is to become the next figure skater to win the Mirrorball Trophy while continuing a career that is still active on the ice.

For Frech, it is a chance to bring Paralympic sport to an entirely different audience.

And for Dancing with the Stars, their arrival creates a first that gives Season 35 a particularly distinctive place in the show's history.