Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows Awarded Coach of the Year

Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows jointly received the BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year award. This recognition followed their role in coaching Keely Hodgkinson to an Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024. Assisted by Painter and Meadows, the 22-year-old Hodgkinson claimed her inaugural global 800m title in the French capital during August. Furthermore, Hodgkinson successfully defended her European title and established herself as the sixth-fastest woman historically in the two-lap event, setting a new British record of one minute 54.61 seconds. She was also the recipient of the primary 2024 Sports Personality of the Year award. The M11 Track Club, based in Manchester and led by Painter and Meadows, contributed two additional Olympic medals for Team GB in Paris. Georgia Bell secured a bronze in the 1500m, and Lewis Davey earned a bronze medal as a member of the men’s 4x400m relay team. Painter had previously coached Meadows, who achieved world 800m and 4x400m relay bronze medals in 2009, along with a world indoor 800m silver medal in 2010. Their marriage took place in 2006. Painter stated: “First of all it is an honour to get the microphone as Jenny normally does all the talking.” He added, “It is hard enough standing out in Wigan as a coach, as you have Matt Peet at Wigan Warriors, you have Shaun Wane and Andy Farrell – it is great to do the best you can.” Meadows commented: “I have got to say Trevor’s leadership is brilliant. He really involves that culture and fun. It is hard work on a daily basis.” Three years prior, Painter and Meadows guided Hodgkinson to an Olympic silver medal as a teenager during her Games debut in Tokyo. Subsequently, the athlete from Leigh secured consecutive world silver medals in 2022 and 2023. This was then succeeded by an Olympic gold, achieved by her dominant performance in the final, fulfilling the goal she and her team had pursued. The shared award was conferred upon Painter and Meadows by Jessica Ennis-Hill, the London 2012 Olympic heptathlon champion, and Kelly Holmes, who won 800m and 1500m gold at Athens 2004. Concurrently with Hodgkinson’s Olympic gold victory, her team-mate Bell also earned a podium finish in Paris. Bell had retired from athletics in 2017 and maintained a full-time occupation at the beginning of the current year. However, after rejoining Painter three years ago, the 31-year-old secured a remarkable 1500m bronze medal in her Olympic debut, building on a European silver medal obtained in June. Meanwhile, Davey, at 24 years old, is now a three-time global relay medallist, having added a bronze in Paris to the two medals he earned at last year’s World Championships. A World Championships event is scheduled for Tokyo in 2025, where Painter and Meadows anticipate leading their athletes to additional international achievements. In the previous year, football manager Pep Guardiola received the Coach of the Year title, following his Treble-winning Manchester City team being named Team of the Year.