Julia Vincent, who competed in the 2016, 2021 and 2024 Olympics, recently began as Transylvania University’s dive coach.
She’s drawing on her experiences competing at this top-level, as well as coaching local clubs, to help the Pioneers springboard into a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m really excited to be here,” said Vincent, who represented her native South African team in the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympics. She’s been spending the past few weeks getting to know Transylvania’s squad. “I think a big part of being a coach is understanding your athletes,” she said.
She’s found them to be talented, kind and uplifting. “It’s a fun environment to come in to every day,” she said. “They care about their teammates, and I appreciate that.”
Vincent will be helping the Pioneers, who compete in the 1m and 3m springboard, increase the difficulty of their dives so they can up their game going into February’s Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships.
Head swim coach Dave Doolin said it was a no-brainer to take on someone who’s so outstanding both as an athlete and human being. “She qualifies on both those counts: a really good person and really good at what she does.”
Vincent moved to Lexington three years ago after earning a master’s and bachelor’s in public health at the University of South Carolina, where she was a three-time All-American.
Her coaching experience includes the Kentucky Dive and Spindletop clubs as well as serving on the UK swim and dive staff. She can also draw from having learned from a wide variety of coaches herself.
Vincent sees sports in general as a good way for young people to develop discipline — but diving takes a particular courage. “It requires a lot of mental strength,” she said. “Learning how to handle some of these difficulties and the fears that they have to face, it really helps them going into real life once school is over.”
Not only did Vincent herself learn to handle challenges, but she excelled in the face of them, earning 17 South African national championship titles and a spot in the Paris Olympics finals.
She said each of the three Olympics was an enjoyable but very different experience. “I really enjoyed the journey,” she said.
It’s the path, not necessarily the outcome, that shapes you the most. “If you perform well, great; if you don’t, you’ve done a lot of learning along the way.”