NOAH WILLIAMS is among the divers joining Team GB at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
His diving partner is none other than veteran Tom Daley. Here’s what we know about Williams.
Noah Oliver Williams is an English diver who represents Great Britain and specialises in the 10 metre platform event.
The Hackney native was introduced to diving after being given a flyer for Crystal Palace Diving Club in primary school and has now become an established part of the British diving team.
Born May 15, 2000, he received support from Hackney’s Youth Sports Fund and won the Hackney Sports Awards for six years.
He now trains at the London Aquatics Centre.
He revealed that he almost quit after Dave Jenkins, a well-loved coach behind much of British diving’s success, passed away in October 2021.
“A lot of this (Olympic) cycle is done in his memory,” Williams said.
“I wanted to quit after he passed.
“It’s hard when someone passes who is your main motivator, he was training me for events.
“I really didn’t enjoy diving after that. It still would’ve been completely different if he just quit, diving would be different, but because he did pass away, it was a lot to process.
“It was the first time in my life that I’d had anything like that to deal with.”
Jenkins had served as both a mentor and, importantly, a friend to Williams, guiding him as a protégé from the age of 16 at the London Aquatics Centre.
But following months of heartache, as Williams found himself in one of his darkest places to date.
A switch flicked and he was all of a sudden embarking on a second Olympic quest.
With the Olympic rings inked on his forearm in memory of Jenkins, Williams’ quest for a medal took on a profound significance.
“I stuck through it and I ended up thinking the opposite, that I couldn’t quit because I wanted to do something in his memory,” he said.
“I didn’t know what else to do apart from dive.
“I couldn’t leave it on Tokyo so hopefully I can do well in Paris for him.”
Williams has been diving alongside Daley since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, in which the latter won a bronze medal.
The pair are now synchro partners and in their first international competition together in Doha in February, won World Championship silver to qualify Team GB a quota place for Paris 2024.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Williams won the silver medal behind fellow GB divers Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow with a score of 399.99 points.
The Hoxton-born 24-year-old told CityAM: “It’s a lot more enjoyable sharing the whole event with someone and you share the pressure. It doesn’t feel as daunting, especially when it’s Tom.
He’s insanely hard-working and talented, he’s miles above everyone else.
Noah Williams on Tom Daley
“In Tokyo, I felt the pressure more from myself because people weren’t expecting anything from me.
“I think we have a good shot; anything can happen on the day, and we’ve done really well this year so I hope I can help him out.”
Williams will be joined in the diving squad by fellow Londoners Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Scarlett Mew Jensen.
“I don’t think people realise how good Tom is,” Williams said.
“There is no one else in the world who could have two years out and then come back and be a world medallist and world champion in the team event.
“He’s insanely hard-working and talented, he’s miles above everyone else.
“Anything can happen on the day and we’ve done really well this year so I hope I can help him out.”
The athlete started diving competitively in 2011 in the ASA National Skills competition, and also competed in the National Age Group Diving Championships in 2013.
Williams made his Olympic debut in the individual 10m platform at Tokyo 2021.
However, the Olympian secured a maiden international podium in 2017 with bronze in the men’s 10m synchro at the European Championships.
He also won silver medals in the same event with Matthew Dixon, as well as in the Commonwealth Games.
Williams also competed in his first Worlds in Gwangju in 2019 after winning 10m Platform gold at the British Championships.
In May 2021, Williams and Spendolini-Sirieix won a silver medal in the 10m mixed synchro event at the 2020 European Aquatics Championships.
Then in 2022, Williams won gold at the British National Diving Cup and partnered with Matty Lee to win silver at the World Championships and gold at the Commonwealth Games.
He also secured gold with Spendolini-Sirieix and a silver at the European Championships in men’s 10m platform events.
