Vegas native Purdy the favorite going into ‘Dancing’ finale
Amy Purdy has medaled in the Paralympics and snowboarding’s World Cup. Now she has her sights set on what could be her highest-profile award yet: the “Dancing With the Stars” mirrorball.
The Las Vegas native and Cimarron-Memorial grad is taking the stage for the last times with her partner, Derek Hough, at 8 p.m. Monday and 9 p.m. Tuesday on KTNV-TV, Channel 13.
Going into the two-part “Dancing” finale, Johnny Avello, director of race and sports operations at Wynn Las Vegas, has listed the duo as the 7-5 favorites, ahead of Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy at 8-5, James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd at 6-1 and Candace Cameron Bure and Mark Ballas at 10-1. (Sadly, those odds are for entertainment purposes only.)
Purdy will dance twice on Monday’s show. First, the couples will repeat the same style from the week of the switch-up. Then, they’ll take part in what ABC is calling a “supersized Freestyle featuring special effects, additional dancers and unexpected surprises.”
At the end of Monday’s episode, one couple will be eliminated based on the results from the previous week in which Purdy and Hough received a total of 79 out of a possible 80 for their quickstep and jazz numbers.
Purdy, who lost her legs after contracting meningitis as a 19-year-old, has been the inspirational favorite during the competition. She’ll find out this week whether she was the overall favorite as well.