Olympian Tabby Stoecker wants to ‘go big’ and make Strictly history

Olympic gold medallist Tabby Stoecker has said she wants to “go big” and hopes to make Strictly Come Dancing history.

The 25-year-old skeleton racer, who won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, was partnered up with newcomer Canadian professional dancer, Mark Karmalita, for the new series of the BBC One dancing programme.

The athlete believes no one has ever scored the maximum 40 points on the show with a rumba, widely recognised as one of the most difficult and technically demanding latin dances, and is ambitious to land its first.

Olympic champion Tabby Stoecker has set her sights on a high score of 40 for a rumba during her run on Strictly Come Dancing (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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Speaking to the Press Association, she said: “We (Stoecker and Karmalita) found out that no one in Strictly history has ever got a 40 for a rumba. That’s what I heard in the grapevine.

“That might be wrong, but I think it’s true and I feel like we should go for it.

“This is his first year. It’s my first time doing anything like this. We might as well go big.”

Many have come close but have fallen short with a score of 39 points, including actress and former Strictly winner Kara Tointon with partner Artem Chigvintsev in 2010 and TV presenter Aj Odudu with professional Kai Widdrington in 2021.

The athlete performed with Karmalita during Saturday night’s launch show and is eager to see if she has “any tricks still up my sleeve” for the upcoming series.

She said: “I’m taking that Olympic discipline and determination into the dancing.

“(Karmalita’s) got his hands full because I’m definitely a kind of person who wants to practice really hard, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I’m gonna give it my all.”

Olympic gold medallist Tabby Stoecker says she expects to be ‘a bit of a handful’ (BBC Studios/PA)

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Stoecker used to do acrobatics and flying trapeze when she was younger – a skill she said she would love to “reconnect” with on the show.

She said: “I love adrenaline-fueled things, so get me up in the air, get me in a hoop or something. That would be really cool.

“I think the acrobatics, not that I’ve done it in over 10 years, but it will be cool again to see if I have any tricks still up my sleeve.”

Strictly Come Dancing returns to screens on Saturday at 18:15 on BBC One.