KRISTI LESKINEN AND MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY CROWNED CHAMPIONS, ON THE SEASON FINALE OF ABC’S “THE SUPERSTARS”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELESE:
LOS ANGELES, California- August 4, 2009. After six weeks of physically challenging competitions, “The Superstars” has crowned their champions, Professional Freeskier Kristi Leskinen and Dancing With The Stars’ Makism Chmerkovskiy. “The Superstars,” based on ABC’s classic “Wide World of Sports”, teamed eight professional athletes and eight celebrities at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas to compete in head-to head competitions for the title of The Superstars Champion.
The team pairings for “The Superstars” were Terrell Owens & Joanna Krupa; Jeff Kent & Ali Landry; Robert Horry & Estella Warren: Bode Miller & Paige Hemmis; Kristi Leskinen & Maksim Chmerkovskiy; Lisa Leslie & Dan Cortese; Jennifer Capriati & David Charvet; and Brandi Chastain & Julio Iglesias, Jr.
Each week a team was eliminated until one team was ultimately crowned the winner. The teams’ athletic prowess and strategy were put to the test in traditional events including swimming, biking, running to more unusual sports like kayaking and jet skiing.. At the end, it was Kristi and Maksim’s natural athleticism and versatility along with teamwork and determination that led them to final win. Kristi, a multi-sportathlete in her own right, felt that whatever was thrown at her and Maks, they would be ready for it. “I went into the show confident”, says Kristi. “Whenever we got there, we had a one-track mind: How can we win the next challenge?”
“Being on The Superstars was such an amazing experience,” says Kristi. “As an action sports athlete, to have this chance to meet so many athletes that I look up to was incredible. And, the show was really honest and to the point about the sports. Having an amazing partner like Maks made winning seem inevitable, and in each competition, we worked extremely hard and never gave up.”
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About Kristi Leskinen
Leskinen, a pioneer in women’s freeskiing and native of Uniontown, Pa., took home a bronze medal at the Winter X Games IX in the Women’s Superpipe. Her career highlights also include: second place Slopestyle at the 2009 Aspen Open, second place Slopestyle at the 2008 North American Open, third place Slopestyle at the 2007 US and Japan Opens, first place Halfpipe in the 2005 Gravity Games, second place Halfpipe in the 2005 World Championships and in 1999 she was the first female to compete in the US Open. This past March she hosted the first ever all-female ski and snowboard slopestyle event and rail jam at her home resort of Seven Springs in Pennsylvania.
About Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Best known for his work on the hit ABC show “Dancing with the Stars,” Russian born professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy was introduced to the world of Ballroom Dance at the age of four when his parents brought him to a local dance school in Odessa, Ukraine. He is currently a board member for the non-profit organization DanceTeamUSA, which promotes DanceSport amongst the youth of America. He also has a production company, Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions, which organizes performances all over the world.
About The Superstars
“The Superstars” is produced by Juma Entertainment and Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST). Robert Horowitz, president, Juma Entertainment, Lewis Fenton, head of production, Juma Entertainment, Dennis Spencer, executive vice president, BEST and Michael Principe, managing director, BEST, are the executive producers. “The Superstars” past winners include football stars Herschel Walker in 1987 and Jason Sehorn in 1998, decathlete Dave Johnson in 1993 and Olympic skier Bode Miller (who makes his return this year) in 2002.
