Adam Rippon won’t be in figure skating competition this fall. He will be a judge instead.
Rippon will be one of three judges for “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors,” premiering Oct. 7, along with “La La Land” choreographer Mandy Moore and “Dancing with the Stars” veteran pro Val Chmerkovskiy.
Rippon won the recently completed all-athlete mini season of the series, beating fellow figure skater Tonya Harding to become the sixth Olympian to lift the Mirror Ball Trophy.
Rippon, who at 28 was the oldest U.S. Olympic singles skating rookie in 82 years, said last month he’s unlikely to compete in figure skating again. He finished 10th in PyeongChang and earned a bronze medal in the team event.
“I used to be embarrassed [to dance],” as a child, Rippon said on “Good Morning America” on Monday. But not anymore.
“You know why?” he said. “I was thrown to the fire [last season on “Dancing”], lived with the wolves, and that’s what I’m going to do with these kids.”
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