Jack Woolley became a contestant on Dancing with the Stars after a “strange couple of months” following the Paris Olympics, with the show helping him to become “less harsh” on himself as he looks ahead to the next Games in 2028. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Woolley became the first-ever athlete to represent Ireland in taekwondo at the Games. He was knocked out in the round of 16 in Tokyo, while in Paris last year he placed seventh.
The 26-year-old from Dublin makes no secret of his ambition to win an Olympic medal. “I had a strange couple of months post-Paris,” he said. “I put my focus on another Olympic cycle, but I didn’t want to get into it too soon.
“I took a few weeks to myself. I was able to enjoy some time with my partner, my friends, my family – which I never really got to do before. “I set my sights on a bit of change, because I’ve been to two Olympics now and they haven’t got me onto the podium.
“I was like, ‘OK, reassess. What do I need to do for this Olympic cycle to make a change and come away with a medal at the next one?’” Woolley moved to Madrid in September, which he described as “a big change”. “I got the call for the show and now I’m back in Ireland for up until the end of it, hopefully.
Then it kicks off into the next Olympic cycle fully,” he said. While dance rehearsals are less draining physically than Olympic training, he admits it is “a lot tougher mentally”, as he leaves his comfort zone. “With me, I.