Help us crown the 2024 Great Coaching Moment winner

Keely Hodgkinson made history by becoming the tenth British female Olympic track and field champion, the third British woman to win the 800 metres title, and the first since Kelly Holmes achieved the feat in Athens 20 years ago. But there is only ‘one’ number that truly matters – first place. After finishing second in the last Olympics in Tokyo as a 19-year-old, and at successive World Championships, winning her first global gold makes her the undisputed world number one.

Trevor Painter is the coach whose vision and dedication has shaped Keely’s path to success. Trevor runs the M11 Track Club in Manchester with his wife, retired Great Britain 800m runner, Jenny Meadows.

“I just feel I have the best team around me,” said Keely in her post-race interview. “Sometimes I feel I see them more than my own family! They have so much self-belief in me, and we have created something really special. It is a ‘we moment’. We did this.”

As the hot pre-race favourite, Trevor faced the challenge of managing the immense pressure on Keely’s shoulders to navigate expectations as the poster girl of the Team GB athletics squad. He helped instil a steely resilience and fuel her already burning desire, which all came to brilliant fruition in the final as Keely ran a well-controlled and tactically judged race, punching the air in delight as she crossed the line to deafening roars from the 75,000 crowd inside Stade de France.

The celebrations didn’t stop there for Trevor, as two more of his athletes won Olympic medals: Georgia Bell with bronze in the 1500m and Lewis Davey with bronze in the 4x400m to complete a truly memorable Games.

When Adam Elliott was crowned High Performance Coach of the Year at last year’s UK Coaching Awards, Alex Yee MBE paid a heartfelt tribute to his British Triathlon coach. Yee reminisced, “My fondest memory is seeing him after the Olympic Games, when I won silver, with a tear in his eye because he just loves what he’s doing.” 

This emotional connection underscores the profound impact Adam has had on Alex’s career. And one can only imagine Adam’s reaction witnessing Yee’s unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime ‘phoenix moment’ as he clinched Olympic triathlon gold on the iconic Pont Alexandre III in Paris.

Simply stating that Yee overtook leader Hayden Wilde of New Zealand with 400 metres to go in the final run leg doesn’t, in any way, shape, or form, do the moment justice. Yee appeared beaten… broken. The commentators were unanimous: Yee had hit the wall. Just as they were musing that he might be pipped to silver by the closing chasers, or even miss out on the medals altogether… is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s superman Alex Yee who, out of nowhere, in a single breath, found his second wind and surged past Wilde.

From the heartbreaking brink of defeat to the triumphant peak of victory. Sensational.

“It was just one of those magic moments where you hear about these Olympic moments and people finding extra stuff within themselves,” said Yee. Again, that doesn’t do the moment justice. Yee summoned a force from the depths of his being, a testament to the indomitable spirit forged in those gruelling but essential sessions with Adam at the Loughborough High Performance Centre. Adam’s expert coaching and relentless dedication have been instrumental in shaping Alex into the champion he is today.

The gusto with which Hannah Cockroft OBE rang the giant trackside bell at Stade de France to celebrate winning the 800 metres was mirrored by the elation of her coach, Paul Moseley. Each of the nine meaty chimes symbolised her nine Paralympic gold medals. 

Hannah partnered with Paul at Leeds City AC Wheelchair Racing in 2022. Already a Paralympic great, he has played a pivotal role in helping Hannah extend her roll of honour to a remarkable 16 world titles and 9 Paralympic titles, cementing her status as a hall of fame ‘legend’. Paul’s meticulous training regimes and strategic insights have been instrumental in Hannah’s continued success, ensuring she remains at the pinnacle of her sport.

She is now within three golds of Britain’s greatest ever wheelchair racer, and fellow spokeswomen for British Paralympic sport, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson – having never been beaten in a global final. Ominously for her rivals in the early stages of planning for Los Angeles 2028, she declared immediately after the race: “It doesn't end here.” 

There’s dominance, and then there’s Hannah Cockroft-style dominance. Not just in terms of race day (she maintained her 100 per cent Paralympic record by breezing to the 800m title by nearly 8 seconds) but also in terms of longevity. It’s an understatement to say that remaining world number one in your sport for 12 years – since bursting onto the wheelchair racing scene at London 2012 – is no easy feat. Paul’s unwavering support and expert guidance have been key factors in her sustained excellence.

How did Hannah celebrate her double? By getting married three weeks and five days later to Paralympics GB team-mate Nathan Maguire in her hometown of Halifax, capping off a golden summer by completing a unique personal treble!

Speaking of dramatic comebacks, the finale of the men’s mountain biking at Elancourt Hill was equally thrilling. Tom Pidcock MBE, who made history in Tokyo as the youngest rider to win an Olympic mountain bike title, became only the second man to achieve back-to-back Olympic victories in this event.

The supreme all-rounder is also a world champion in cyclo-cross and excels on the road, being a stage winner in the Tour de France – claiming the Alpe d’Huez ‘queen stage’ in 2022 with Ineos Grenadiers.

Ineos coach and directeur sportif Kurt Bogaerts, who is also Pidcock’s personal coach – and a cornerstone in Pidcock’s diverse and successful career – is accustomed to his super-human feats of endurance. However, even he must have feared their chances were wrecked when Pidcock punctured early in the race while leading, leaving him with a mountain to climb, 40 seconds behind.

‘Astonishing’ is a word that has become synonymous with Pidcock’s career. The flat tyre only served to pump up the prodigiously talented rider, as he set about reeling in home favourite Victor Koretzky lap by lap, summoning pure instinct and a masterclass in bike-handling to overtake him in the closing stages.

Whipped up by the partisan French crowd, Koretzky re-took the lead. But then, with the final bend in sight, Pidcock threw caution to the wind. He used his aggressive descending skills to navigate the toughest line through the trees. Their bikes brushed together before Pidcock broke Koretzky’s resolve and sprinted clear. This daring manoeuvre was a testament to the skills and confidence instilled in him by Kurt.

While the drama on the track will be etched in our memories, the hard work and mentorship of the man who crafted this unforgettable moment went unseen. Take a bow Kurt for honing Pidcock’s Yorkshire grit and guile into the final polished diamond.