Tabby Stoecker

Tabby Stoecker is a British skeleton racer and Olympic champion who made history at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.

Born in Highgate, London, Tabby grew up with a love of gymnastics, becoming a British Schools Gymnastics Champion and training at the National Centre for Circus Arts with dreams of one day joining Cirque du Soleil.

Her path to skeleton began unexpectedly in 2018 when, while studying for her A-Levels, she spotted an advert for the Discover Your Gold talent identification programme. Despite knowing nothing about the sport, Tabby impressed at the trials and began training with the British skeleton programme in Bath.

She made her Europa Cup debut in 2021 and quickly established herself on the international stage, becoming Junior European Champion and twice winning silver at the Junior World Championships. In 2023, she claimed her first World Cup gold, before going on to win medals at senior World Championships and further World Cup events.

In February 2026, Tabby achieved her biggest sporting success yet, winning Olympic gold alongside Matt Weston in the skeleton team event at Milan Cortina. Aged just 25, she became Britain’s youngest Olympic champion in the sport. Later that year, she joined the cast of BBC’s Gladiators as new Gladiator “Gold Star”.

Strictly has actually been part of Tabby’s plan for years. When new skeleton recruits were once asked why they wanted to reach the Olympics, while everyone else gave heartfelt sporting answers, Tabby simply said: “I want to go on Strictly Come Dancing!” Now that dream has come true, she’s hoping her old gymnastics flips and tricks might make an appearance - and she’s particularly excited to learn the Rumba and Argentine Tango.