Nastia Liukin Has ‘No Competition’ On ‘Dancing With The Stars,’ According To Former Olympian

Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough definitely seem to be the clear frontrunners on Dancing with the Stars. However, there are a few things working against the seemingly unbeatable pair.

One of Nastia’s fellow Olympians thinks that the flexible blonde will find it too easy to transition from doing gymnastics to doing the jive. According to 2004 all-around gold medalist Carly Patterson Caldwell, Liuikin and Hough are definitely going to waltz away with that special gold mirrorball trophy.

“I feel like there’s going to be no competition [on DWTS],” Carly recently told the Dallas Morning News. “She was that type of gymnast … she has dance in her.”

Nastia Liukin follows in the very nimble footsteps of another beloved Olympian, Season 8 Dancing with the Stars champion Shawn Johnson. Gymnasts don’t do many dance moves during their gymnastic routines, but there are numerous reasons why their sport makes them ideal DWTS competitors. Girls like Shawn and Nastia are used to pushing their bodies for hours at a time during practice, they’re used to learning routines, and their flexibility and strength make it possible for them to pull off moves that most of their competitors could never do. Liukin shows off one such move in the video below, which was shot while she was filming a DWTS promo.

It’s happening @DancingABC pic.twitter.com/pi7j3FTEkb

— Nastia Liukin (@NastiaLiukin) February 25, 2015

Derek and Nastia were also given a bit of an advantage when Good Morning America made a special surprise announcement about their pairing, and interviewed them separately from the other DWTS competitors. Covers has listed its betting odds for the Season 20 Dancing with the Stars cast, and Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough are the current 3:1 favorites.

However, Hough and Liukin’s quest for the mirrorball trophy could prove to be much tougher than it seems. As the Inquisitr previously reported, many DWTS fans weren’t happy about the announcement that Derek would be on this season of the show. The beloved pro originally said he was too busy with the New York Spring Spectacular to compete on Dancing with the Stars, but he decided to squeeze the competition into his busy schedule. Some fans thought it was unfair that he scored one of the best celeb partners after changing his mind at the last minute, and now they might feel less inclined to vote for him.

Time is also working against Derek and Nastia. He’s busy with the Spring Spectacular, and she’s flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles so that she can compete and attended classes at NYU. This busy pair might find it hard to find time to rehearse together, and they might be downright exhausted by the time they make it to the ballroom each week.

Season 20 of Dancing with the Stars premieres March 16 on ABC. Do you think Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough will run away with the competition?

[Image credit: Jason Merritt/Getty]