Johnny Damon, Snowboarder Jamie Anderson Eliminated on 'Dancing with the Stars'

The season premiere of ABC's Dancing with the Stars saw two competitors eliminated in the all-athletes edition of the show on Monday.

Former Major League Baseball player Johnny Damon and partner Emma Slater did not advance to the second round of competition. Neither did snowboarder Jamie Anderson and partner Artem Chigvintsev.

They were part of a field loaded with athletes.

Figure skater Adam Rippon, Notre Dame basketball player Arike Ogunbowale, luge athlete Chris Mazdzer, softball player Jennie Finch, cornerback Josh Norman, Hall of Fame basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, figure skater Mirai Nagasu and figure skater Tonya Harding all advanced past the first round.

The show's official Twitter account underscored just how impressive the dancing is on this season when it called it "the most competitive season yet."

It wasn't just the dancing that stood out, though, as the height difference between the 7'2" Abdul-Jabbar and the rest of the dancers turned heads. The NBA on TNT crew had some fun with the former Los Angeles Lakers center:

The figure skaters in particular impressed, which doesn't come as much surprise considering the natural grace that is required to excel at their sport at the highest level:

Rippon and Nagasu appeared to set the bar for stretches of their respective dances, but whoever ultimately takes home the Mirrorball Trophy will add to the show's extensive history of athletes succeeding.

Running back Rashad Jennings won the title last year, just beating out catcher David Ross. Former NFL players Hines Ward, Emmitt Smith and Donald Driver also captured the trophy, while Jerry Rice finished in second place.