Decorated Olympic coach Jane Figueiredo has been hired as the next head diving coach for the Tennessee swim and dive team, a Tennessee spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beacon.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the sport, Figueiredo will succeed the 35-year tenure of Dave Parrington, who announced his retirement on April 10.
Figueiredo, 61, was a former diver for Parrington at the University of Houston.
“I am honored to accept the role of Head Diving Coach at the University of Tennessee and so excited to follow in Dave Parrington’s legacy of excellence, tradition and family values,” Figueiredo said. “Together with Matt Kredich and the amazing staff at Tennessee we’ll continue to build on the foundation already established in the diving program. Coaching at Tennessee will be one of growth, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. This is truly something very special. Thank you to the Tennessee family for this amazing opportunity.”
Figueiredo has coached some of the most accomplished divers in the world, guiding athletes to titles in the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and NCAA Championships. During her time as a coach, Figueiredo has been a part of 11 Olympic medals and 12 World Championships.
The honors earned her a 2017 nod as World Aquatics Diving Coach of the Year.
Figueiredo is best known for her work with British Olympian Tom Daley, coaching him to four Olympic medals since 2014. She also guided Matty Lee and Daley to gold in the men’s 10-meter synchro event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Her first Olympic champion pairing came in 2000, when Russian divers Vera Ilyina and Yulia Pakhalina won gold in the women’s 3-meter springboard synchro in Sydney.
A native of Harare, Zimbabwe, Figueiredo began her own Olympic journey as a diver representing Portugal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. She later moved to the United States to compete collegiately at Houston, where she was a five-time All-American and a 2010 inductee into the university’s Hall of Honor.
After graduating in 1987, she returned to Houston as an assistant coach following Parrington’s departure. She eventually led the Cougar diving program from 1990 to 2014, earning 12 straight conference Coach of the Year awards from 2002 to 2013 and being named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year four times. Under her leadership, Houston divers earned 51 All-America honors and won eight NCAA titles.
After her stint with her alma mater, Figueiredo was approached with the opportunity to head overseas again and coach with Aquatics GB Performance Centre London. During her nearly 12-year span in Great Britain, Figueiredo guided her divers to an additional eight Olympic medals.
Figueiredo has been represented in eight of the last 11 Olympics, either as an athlete or a coach.
“I could not be more excited to have Jane Figueiredo take the reins of Tennessee Diving and lead this program into the future,” director of swimming and diving Matt Kredich said. “Jane is an absolute legend in the sport of diving. She’s well known and highly respected all over the world, and has consistently been successful at the highest levels of the sport. Jane is a force of nature – she has amazing energy, is relentlessly positive and has a very exciting vision for Tennessee Diving. We cannot wait to have her get started.”
Most recently at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Figueiredo coached three divers who all reached the podium. Daley and Noah Williams earned silver in the men’s 10-meter synchro, with Williams also earning bronze in the individual 10-meter event. Scarlett Mew Jensen, alongside Yasmin Harper, claimed bronze in the 3-meter synchro — Team GB’s first women’s diving medal in 64 years.
She now returns to collegiate diving, stepping into a role once again following Parrington — who led Tennessee divers to nine NCAA titles, 47 SEC titles, and 19 SEC Diver of the Year honors.
