Dame Sarah Storey has described her time on Strictly Come Dancing as a “humbling” experience, despite her record-breaking Paralympic career. The 48-year-old, who has won 19 gold medals and competed at eight Games, says learning to dance has been a tough but enjoyable challenge.
A new challenge away from cycling
This weekend, viewers saw Storey perform a Tango to Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much alongside professional partner Julian Caillon. Speaking before the performance, she admitted that Tuesdays are especially difficult as she works on technique.
“Tuesdays can be really challenging because you start to learn the technique and then something always drops out the bottom as you're trying to add layers onto the top. So you just have to try and be patient with yourself. And I'm not used to being very patient with myself, so trying to learn to be better at that. It's always challenge, but it's a good challenge, and I'm enjoying it,” she said.
Mental and physical demands
Storey, who has won a total of 30 Paralympic medals, shared on Instagram that she had cried “big fat tango tears” after a session this week, but remains determined to keep going. She explained that the mental side of dancing is harder than the physical.
“I think it's harder mentally. Physically. I can go through discomfort because there's always going to be discomfort, whether it's your feet, your ribs, you know, your muscles. You find your muscles have to be in different lengths, particularly getting different types of mobility,” she said.
“I've always gone in a straight line or leaned in sport. I've never gone into sort of rotation or anything. It's harder psychologically. I've always been the strongest in a team and the leader, knowing exactly what I'm doing all the time. So it's really a humbling process. I knew it would be, to be the student again and to just listen and try and take on board as much as you can and action it all of the time.”
Support at home and from her partner
Storey has support at home from her children, Louisa and Charlie, and her husband, Barney. She says her daughter is her “best and harshest critic”.
“They're loving it, and they love Julian,” she said. “They also they just love seeing a different side of mum. And Louisa is probably my best and harshest critic. She's been incredibly proud so far, but she's still worried I might embarrass her.”
Julian Caillon praised Storey’s work ethic, saying: “Once you get to know Sarah, you can really understand why she is the GOAT and why she was as amazing as what she was and still is. She just has this desire and this hunger and this work ethic, and she just keeps going.”
Taking it week by week
The pair are considered outsiders to lift the Glitterball trophy, but Storey says she takes things “week by week”. Caillon revealed he has a lucky pair of pants that he wears for every show, which have “not let me down yet”.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Saturday and Sunday nights.
