Olympic medallist Noah Williams opens up on mental health struggle – and says he might not return to diving
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Olympic diver Noah Williams has said he might not return to diving, as he spoke candidly about his mental health and the toll of intensive training.
The 24-year-old Team GB athlete came away from the Paris Games with a bronze in the individual platform and a silver in the synchronised platform alongside his superstar diving partner Tom Daley.
They were emotional wins – not least because they came three years after the sudden death of his coach and mentor David Jenkins.
Now with two Olympic medals to his name, Williams told Sky News he has achieved more than he thought he would and is ready to take a “long break” from diving.
He said it is “50-50” whether he will return for the next games in Los Angeles, saying: “I think if I’m completely honest, I probably will carry on but the truth is I don’t know.
“I want to take maybe even up to a year out and see. If after a year I don’t miss diving and my mental health’s better I might just leave it there.”
Williams has been open about his mental health previously and admitted his intensive training has proved tough at times.
“I hate training – it’s so mentally taxing,” he said. “Competing, I love that part, that’s why I do it.”
In recent years, athletes – often under intense pressure and scrutiny – have felt more empowered to take breaks and focus on their mental health.
Team USA’s Simone Biles, widely considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, took a break from competing in 2021 to put her mental wellness first.
Simone Biles also took a break from her sport to focus on her mental health. Pic: Reuters
Decorated British swimmer Adam Peaty has also been open about his battles with depression and alcoholism, while tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open in 2021 because of mental health issues.
The intense nature of competing in elite-level sport means many athletes are rarely able to participate in things others might take for granted.
Williams says he will use his break from diving to “go on a little holiday” and do other sports he enjoys.
The 24-year-old said he suffers from depression and while it’s not something he “really wanted to step forward and talk about”, he has wanted to be honest when asked about his experiences.
At times he has struggled with negative comments, saying even one unkind remark “will make me feel so much worse and can really ruin my whole week”.
“People are allowed to have their opinions but some people, they message stuff and I’m like ‘why, what was the point in that?'”
Daley and Williams during the men’s synchronised 10m platform final. Pic: PA
However, he also said he receives plenty of kind messages from people cheering him on.
Since he has spoken about his mental health he has also had messages from people thanking him for being open and saying he helped them.
The young athlete insisted he “hasn’t done that much” and is “just a normal guy”, but said the kind messages mean a lot to him.
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Williams also opened up on the death of his coach in 2021, which he said had a “massive impact”.
In an interview just after winning silver with Daley, Williams had been visibly emotional and said: “It [the medal] means a lot to me. From third last to second, my coach passed away after Tokyo.
“I don’t want to talk too much ’cause I’ll cry.”
Speaking about his coach’s death now, the diver said it was a “massive shock” as Jenkins was just 31, having been found unconscious in a swimming pool in Antalya, Turkey.
Jenkins was the development lead coach for England’s top diving programme Dive London at the time, and had spent the day before he died training the Team GB squad.
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Williams said losing his coach “flipped my life upside down” and he’d even thought about stopping diving.
“He was somebody I almost spent more time with than my own parents. I would travel to competitions with him… I was with him Monday to Saturday almost eight hours a day training,” he said.
The aftermath of Jenkins’s death was a “low point” in his life and the shock stayed with him, Williams said.
However he hopes his coach would be happy for him after his successful stint in Paris, adding: “I wanted to do something he’d be proud of.”
