Team USA’s Danelle Umstead to Take on Dancing With the Stars

Tonight, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars kicks off a new season, featuring Team USA member, Danelle Umstead. Her participation is monumental. Not only will she be the first alpine racer to be featured on the show, but more importantly, she will be the show’s first legally blind contestant.

At the age of 13, Umstead was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare genetic eye disorder that causes progressive retinal degeneration, eventually leading to blindness. Currently, Umstead has no central vision and is slowly losing her peripheral vision, meaning she can only see less than five feet without detail. On top of that, Umstead suffers from multiple sclerosis, which impacts her brain function and body movement.

As a three-time Paralympian, Umstead is used to defying the odds. Her father introduced her to skiing at the age of 29, and has competing and pushing her limits ever since.

“People told me they thought this was impossible. They said I was too old, and i just learned how to ski as an adult. No way could I become a Paralympian. This was enough to push me, to prove them wrong” she told Park City Magazine in a recent interview.

Her husband, Rob Umstead, has skied as her guide since 2008, and together they have made the impossible, possible. In addition to winning three bronze medals in the Paralympics, four World Championship medals, and fifty World Cup medals, the duo were the first husband and wife visually impaired ski race team to compete for Team USA. They compete under the name, Team Vision4Gold, where their motto is to “live the impossible.”

“We have always said that our skiing is like a dance between the two of us, so I guess now she has to learn how to make dancing more like a ski run” he says.

Coming into Monday and Tuesday’s shows, Umstead is extremely excited to compete on a new stage. Having no previous experience dancing, she knows her conditions will put her at a disadvantage, but she looks forward to the challenge. With the help of her partner, Artem Chivintsev, and the support of her husband and son, Brocton, Umstead is moving forward with confidence.

“We truly are the underdog in this competition” she says. “#TeamBlindFaith is going to dance our best dance and hope America believes in us too…Fingers crossed I can inspire others to live their impossible and want to see me do the same thing on Dancing with the Stars.”

To catch Umstead’s first performance, tune in to the new season of Dancing with the Stars, premiering tonight, Monday, September 24th, at 8/7c on ABC.