Simone Biles made a rare misstep, but her performance on “Dancing with the Stars” was still plenty strong enough to survive the first elimination Monday.
The four-time Olympic champion gymnast got a step ahead of partner Sasha Farber on their cha-cha on the season’s second episode, leading to a lower score this week (29 out of 40) than the first week (32 out of 40).
“What you did was nice, just not together,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba said.
“I don’t know if I necessarily felt it, but what I saw was beautiful,” added another judge, Julianne Hough.
Biles and Farber’s score tied for the fourth-highest of the 12 couples, after posting the highest score the previous Monday. Biles is trying to join Shawn Johnson and Laurie Hernandez as gymnasts to win the Mirrorball Trophy.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan scored 28 points with partner Artem Chigvintsev for a second straight week. They also advanced.
Judge Len Goodman said Kerrigan “lost a bit of control here and there.”
“I think the thing that got to you was your nerves,” Inaba said. “In your first half of your routine you were a little bit off your step. ... As the dance progressed, I saw you find yourself.”
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
VIDEO: Tom Brady calls Simone Biles ‘the GOAT’