PARIS — On Friday evening, Snohomish County’s premiere ballroom dance couple, Erik Linder, 14, and Rickie Taylor, 13, won the gold medal at the ballroom world championships.
They are the under-16 world champs, and their manager, Erik’s dad, is in awe.
“I’m shaking and can’t believe it,” said Lars Linder by email Friday. “We were so happy when they made the final, but gold is hard to grasp.”
Erik, of Lake Stevens, and Rickie, of Edmonds, went into the international competition as the reigning U.S. Amateur DanceSport Junior I Standard National Champions. “Junior I” refers to their under-16 age group. “Standard” ballroom dancing is everything but Latin styles. They also earned first place in Latin at the International Grand Ball DanceSport Championships earlier this year in San Francisco.
Saturday, they compete in Latin at the world championships, Lars Linder said.
Dancing together since age 4, the duo won the first of their five national championships when they were just 7. Erik and Rickie have been on TV several times, including on “Dancing with the Stars.”
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