Diving's Jane Figueiredo wins IOC Female Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award 2024

Diving coach Jane Figueiredo has been honoured with the IOC Female Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024 after a historic year.

The annual awards celebrate one female and one male coach who have played an indispensable role in shaping both the sporting and personal journeys of the various athletes they have worked with.

In 2024, Figueiredo's athletes have graced world, European and Olympic podiums.

The 60-year-old has notably coached Tom Daley to three Olympic medals since they first joined forces in 2014, including men's 10m synchro gold alongside Matty Lee at Tokyo 2020.

And at Paris 2024, all three of Figueiredo's divers selected for the Games won medals.

Scarlett Mew Jensen, who has worked under Figueiredo for the past two years, won Team GB's first medal of the Games when she took bronze in the women's 3m synchro, alongside Yasmin Harper.

Daley and Noah Williams then clinched men's 10m synchro silver, with Williams also adding men's individual 10m platform bronze to his name.

Having helped Team GB to their most successful Olympic diving haul ever, Figueiredo has been honoured for her work by the IOC.

"For Tom and I it [an Olympic medal] is like old turkey, we’ve been down this road," she said.

"But for Noah it’s his first medal, he lost his beautiful, wonderful coach a few years ago. So this for us is a very special occasion.

"Dave Jenkins set him up and I just took him the rest of the way.

"It’s a very emotional thing, it’s not just Xs and Os, we’re a partnership the three of us."

Figueiredo has also worked alongside three-time Olympian Grace Reid, two-time Olympian Dan Goodfellow and 2024 European champion Desharne Bent-Ashmeil in recent years.

The IOC award winners were selected by a panel appointed by IOC President Thomas Bach and chaired by Sergii Bubka. The panel included two members of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission and two members of the IOC Athletes' Commission.

The awards ceremony took place in on 18 November in Lausanne, Switzerland to celebrate the success of coaches at summer and winter Olympic Games.

Olympic medal haul from athletes coached by Jane Figueiredo:

Paris 2024

  • Tom Daley – SILVER in Men’s 10m Synchro

  • Noah Williams – SILVER in Men’s 10m Synchro; BRONZE in Men’s 10m Platform

  • Scarlett Mew Jensen – BRONZE in Women’s 3m Synchro

Tokyo 2020

  • Tom Daley – GOLD in Men’s 10m Synchro; BRONZE in Men’s 10m Platform

  • Matty Lee – GOLD in Men’s 10m Synchro

  • Grace Reid – Women’s 3m Springboard & Women’s 3m Synchro

Rio 2016

  • Tom Daley – BRONZE in Men’s 10m Synchro

Sportsbeat 2024