Irish taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley has said that making it to the grand finale of Dancing With The Stars this Sunday is a dream come true and that he's found "a friend for life" in his pro-dance partner, Alex Vladimirov.
The pair are set to take their final twirl together under the glitterball as they reprise their very well received week five dance to Grace by The Wolfe Tones, which they have dedicated to boxer Kellie Harrington.
🪩 JUDGES' CHOICE 🪩
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 12, 2025
Here are the dances our judges have chosen for our finalists to perform this Sunday in an effort to lift that glitterball 🪩 #DWTSIRL pic.twitter.com/QhwKWkXNyW
Speaking about making it to the final, Jack says "It means the world to me and Alex. For me, it’s been a dream since I was a kid and coming into this experience and meeting Alex, we’ve got on so well and become friends.
"I feel like I haven’t just done this for myself, I’ve also done it for her, too, so honestly it’s a dream come true."
"Me too," adds Alex. "It’s been such an amazing journey and to finish up in the final is a dream come true. We’re so grateful. It hasn’t really sunk in because we have a job to do but we’ve made it."
Jack and Alex are speaking as they travel back to rehearsals after they visited his former primary school, St Thomas in Jobstown in Tallaght.
Revisiting his alma mater still matters a lot to him. He was there before he headed off to the Olympics last year and he was back again on Wednesday to thank pupils for their support during his DWTS journey.
"Seeing the love and support from the kids has made it feel like the actual final. It’s real. I can’t wait now!" he says.
"I went back to show the kids that you can step outside your comfort zone. They’ve supported us on this journey so much. It was nice to give back to the local community and inspire the kids. It was really fun."
He adds, "We felt like pop stars! Wait until you see the clips from the school on Sunday - there was crowds of them screaming, grabbing at us!"
"They were all asking for photos and asking for autographs," says Alex. "It was so cute."
On Sunday, the pair will once again take to the dancefloor to dance to Grace and they’re both relishing the chance to perform to one of Jack’s favourite songs.
"We’ve had a really good response to Grace and it is a great dance to do," says Alex. "I think it will remind people of our journey and the reason why they love Jack."
"When we first performed it, everybody loved it and it got a huge response," Jack adds. "It was such an honour to dance to that song because it means so much to me. Kellie Harrington is such a huge role model for me and the song itself resonates with me and my family so it will be absolutely incredible to go out on such a high."
As soon as he kicks off his dancing shoes after the DWTS final, Jack is straight back into taekwondo training in Spain, while his partner, Dave, also begins his own training for the Garda Síochána - and it means they will be maintaining a long distance relationship.
"Well, we’ve done it before," Jack says. "I actually moved over to Spain last September just after the Paris Olympics and we went up to Christmas long distance, maybe seeing each other once every five weeks.
"When I’m in Ireland, I see Dave every single day, we’re glued to each other so I thought long distance would be difficult but after a few days it gets a little bit easier.
"I know we’re both very focused on our own careers and we need to allow each other to do it and realise the love we have for each other is there. When I go back to Spain, it will be tough but we’ll see each other when we can."
They battled through a dreaded dance-off last week but now Jack and Alex have made it to the dance-off that really matters - the grand finale.
Asked what has been the best thing about the whole DWTS experience, Jack does not hesitate.
"Alex has been the best thing about this whole experience," he says. "I wouldn’t have been able to do this without Alex, she’s just been a rock for me and just to see her face every day . . . she brings a smile to your face when you walk in.
"We’ve been on a rollercoaster of a journey and I’ve definitely found a friend for life. We try not to think of the end of the journey but I know I’ll be a bit lost when it’s over, I’m going to be an absolute crying mess when this is done."
Dancing With The Stars grand finale airs this Sunday at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
