On Tuesday, Olympic champion Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, were the first semi-finalists to go.
Along the way, they notched a couple of perfect scores and enjoyed the journey of meeting struggles and beating them.
"I think we came out every single week and we gave our hearts, we gave our souls and we put in so much hard work that no matter what the scores were, no matter what the result was going to be, I was proud of what we accomplished and I was proud of what we made together," Ohno said. "To me, that's what being a champion is."
Minutes later, football champ Emmitt Smith and partner Cheryl Burke saw their dreams dashed for any mirror ball repeat.
"This is a competition and you always have to ask yourself, 'Did I give it my all?' And I can look her square dead in the eyes and tell her, 'I gave it all I can give you,'" Smith said about his partner.
Now the finals are down to the women: Olympic champion Shawn Johnson, soap star Kelly Monaco and TV personality Melissa Rycroft.
