Martina Navratilova Dancing with the Stars: Aging Tennis Great Will Steal Show

Martina Navratilova is going to dance her way into the spotlight and win the latest edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. 

While she seems like a long shot on the surface, once digging a little deeper it is clear she has the goods to dominate. 

As far as the longshot status, she has a few things going against her.

She is 55. If she wins, she would be the oldest champion in the history of the show. The current holder of that honor is Donny Osmond. He was 51 when he won. 

However, Navratilova is not the typical 55-year-old. She keeps herself in peak physical condition. This will serve her well on the show. 

Navratilova was recently asked if her conditioning would help her in an interview with Houston Mitchell of the LA Times. Here is her response. 

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Absolutely. It definitely helps that my body is already in gear and ready to go. I've got the endurance part down and the discipline to practice. Now I've just got to get control of my head and keep it still and the rest of the body is getting there.

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And she will get the rest of her body there. Navratilova knows how to train and focus. This has helped her throughout her life. This led to 18 women's Grand Slam titles, and it allowed her to conquer her advanced age to win a doubles title at the Tier 1 Rogers Cup 2006. 

The other thing that adds to Navratilova's longshot status is that she has a fear of dancing. While this would seem to be a severe detriment in a dancing competition, it will only help fuel her to greatness because that is how she conquers fears. 

She also talked about this in her interview with Mitchell. 

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I've always been set on facing my fears and ever since I was 14 and my parents put me in a ballroom dancing class, I’ve had this terrible fear of dancing in public—I don't even like dancing by myself! I was scared of flying, so I got my pilot's license, I’m scared of dancing, so what better way to conquer my fear of that than to go on the largest dance floor in the world and compete on Dancing with the Stars!

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While it is easy to bet against Navratilova on Dancing with the Stars, it is not wise. She is going to win.