GB diving coach Figueiredo given IOC honour

Jane Figueiredo coached Tom Daley to gold at the Tokyo Olympics

Team GB diving coach Jane Figueiredo has been given a lifetime achievement award by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The team won five medals at the 2024 Paris Games, including Noah Williams and Tom Daley taking silver in the men's 10m synchro.

Figueiredo, 60, has been the GB head diving coach since 2014.

"Coaching has been my passion since I was a young girl, and to receive this award is a dream come true," she said.

Speaking about Figueiredo, Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Daley said: "Throughout the years she has taught me what it means to be a real professional athlete.

"She has impacted so many people and not just me and my diving career, in and out of the pool."

Figueiredo, born in Zimbabwe, represented Portugal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before competing and coaching at the University of Houston.

Ukrainian pole vault coach Vitaliy Petrov has also been given the award, with his athletes having set 36 world records and won six Olympic medals and 21 World Championship titles.

Petrov coached star competitors including Sergey Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva.

"I accept the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award with great pride, joy, and motivation to continue contributing to the development of the Olympic movement worldwide," said Petrov.

"I can only thank the athletes for the unforgettable moments I have lived with them and for the trust they put in me every single day."