HOT GALLERY: Watch Them Go for the Mirror-Ball Trophy Again! Dancing with the Stars All-Stars Then and Now

Apolo Anton Ohno, a two-time Olympic gold medalist (he has eight medals altogether), is also a champ of another kind: In 2007 he won season 4 of Dancing with the Stars, a year after becoming an American favorite at the Turin Olympics. He’s also the author of the best-selling inspirational and motivational memoir Zero Regrets: Be Greater Than Yesterday. Last time Ohno was on the show, he was paired with Julianne Hough—who has gone on to focus her attention on singing and acting (she starred in Footloose and Rock of Ages)—and the two had a fun, youthful chemistry that took them all the way to the end. This time his partner is Karina Smirnoff. The speed skater and the firecracker pro should make for an explosive pair.

The daughter of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and would-be “first dude” Todd Palin competed in season 11 with pro and two-time champ Mark Ballas; the two will reunite after their third-place finish last time around. “Going out there and winning this would mean a lot,” Palin said at the time. “It would be like a big middle finger out there to all the people out there who hate my mom and hate me.” She was not exactly a judges’ favorite, but "Bristol the Pistol"—whose unwed pregnancy was revealed in the throes of the 2008 presidential election and who has since become a public advocate for teen pregnancy prevention—had what can only be described as a fervent fan base. Palin’s reality series Life’s a Tripp aired earlier this year on Lifetime.

The NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith is unquestionably one of the best running backs of all time, having won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010 (his first eligible year for election). But never mind all that—he’s also a Dancing with the Stars champ! For All-Stars, he reunites with his season 3 partner Cheryl Burke—another crowd favorite. “Emmitt's was the great American story,” fellow contestant Jerry Springer told People magazine before the season 3 finale (Springer had previously been eliminated). “You saw his growth throughout the process and that's the great American story. That's the magic of this show."

Brazilian race-car driver Hélio Castroneves is no stranger to thrills—or challenges. The three-time Indy 500 winner won season 5 with Julianne Hough, thanks in large part to his exuberant personality and crowd-pleasing performances. This year he’s partnered with So You Think You Can Dance alum Chelsie Hightower. “She is tough,” Castroneves told Univision TV host Chiquinquira Delgado of his new partner. “All the time when we are practicing, she’s like in a race car—she’s full-out, full-throttle... I know I’m a race-car driver, but here I am not a professional dancer.” As for Hightower, she says Castroneves “always has a smile on his face, and that’s always a good thing.”

Wonder whether we’ll be seeing some of those famous ’N Sync moves as Joey Fatone returns for All-Stars with his season 4 partner, two-time champion Kym Johnson? Whether or not there are any boy band tributes, here’s hoping he brings his indomitable energy and excitement to the dance floor again. Among other competition, Fatone will be facing Apolo Anton Ohno, who beat him for the title the last time they were both on the show. “This time out of the gate, everyone’s coming out with guns blazing,” says Fatone, the former host of The Singing Bee and former announcer on Family Feud. “Even the professional dancers are more competitive this season. My partner, Kym Johnson, is always saying, ‘We have to do this and that. This is the all-stars.’ ”

General Hospital star Kelly Monaco—who started her career as a Playboy model—and her partner Alec Mazo were the very first Dancing with the Stars champions—but she is perhaps best remembered for the wardrobe malfunction that left her clutching her top during the samba. Oh, and that little business of her controversial win against the über-popular John O’Hurley (and his subsequent win in a rematch). This time, Monaco is paired with Valentin Chmerkovskiy (Maksim’s little brother is returning for his third season on the show). “I think only the strong survive,” Monaco said about All-Stars. “I’m not surprised all of them would have the heart to put themselves in this position again.”

The last time Kirstie Alley was on the show, in season 12, she basically transformed herself, losing a lot of weight and becoming notably light on her feet by the end of the season. The 61-year-old star of Cheers, Veronica’s Closet, Look Who’s Talking, and Fat Actress claimed that her “biggest challenge is to move quickly enough—if someone told me to haul ass, it would take two trips.” But she was impressively lithe, making it all the way to the finale before losing to fan favorite Hines Ward. As an all-star, she’s reunited with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, with whom she has a delightfully flirtatious and bantering rapport.

Who’s that brunette with the big smile? None other than the blondest of bombshells, Pamela Anderson. In her first go on the show, the star of Baywatch and Barb Wire partnered with newcomer Aussie Damian Whitewood and made it only to week 7; this time, she landed Irishman Tristan MacManus and is hoping to go all the way. To help achieve her goal, she has sworn off sex for the duration of the show. “I’m being tested. It’s hard when you have a sweaty man pressed up against you every day,” she told USA Today. “I feel lascivious.... Trust me, I could chew through a table right now.” A longtime activist and proponent for animal rights, Anderson has appeared naked in several PETA campaigns.

Fans got to vote for whom they’d like to see in the 13th spot in this year’s All-Star edition, and Sabrina Bryan was the lucky one (sorry, Carson Kressley and Kyle Massey). The former Cheetah Girl will be getting a new partner in Louis Van Amstel this year, though. In season 5, Bryan was paired with pro Mark Ballas (in his first season on the show), and the exceptional connection between them was obvious—and apparently extended beyond the dance floor. The two admitted publicly soon after their shocking elimination in week 6 that they were in fact a couple. (They broke up several months later.) Bryan currently performs as part of the Dancing with the Stars: Live in Las Vegas show.

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson is a compact package of sweetness and strength. In season 8, Johnson and her partner Mark Ballas won the mirror-ball trophy (just a year after she won a gold and three silver medals at the Beijing Games); she was only 17 at the time, the youngest contestant ever on the show. Her youth, in fact, made her uncomfortable delving into the more sensual dance moves—something that Ballas was sensitive about in his choreography. Johnson is one of the many stars and dancing pros who make cameo appearances in the video for “Do You Love Me” by Ballas Hough Band—that would be Mark Ballas and his buddy Derek Hough, Johnson’s new partner this year. Hopefully the knee injury that prevented her from competing in this year’s Olympic Games will not affect her ability to let loose on the dance floor.