23 January 2025 – A total of 120 coaches from 59 countries and 22 sports have now graduated from the Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) programme, a four-year International Olympic Committee (IOC) initiative designed to tackle the under-representation of women in elite coaching.
Suvi Mikkonen was one of the coaches honoured during the online graduation ceremony of the latest cohort on 16 January this year. She may have missed out on a taekwondo medal at the Olympic Games as an athlete representing Finland, but she achieved success as a coach on her very first attempt.
She guided Hungary’s Viviana Marton to a women’s taekwondo -67kg gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, having spent months honing her skills as a coach on the WISH programme.
Mikkonen was in the fourth cohort to graduate from the programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire in Great Britain, and led by director Elizabeth Pike.
“These women were set a number of tasks and challenges to develop their skill set in a high-performance environment, and to be able to contribute to the systemic changes that are needed for true gender equality in and through sport,” Pike said. “We are here to celebrate them.”
Figueiredo shares advice
Diving coach Jane Figueiredo, who was recently honoured with the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, attended the ceremony and shared some valuable lessons with the graduates.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be amongst all you wonderful women today,” said Figueiredo, who has coached seven Olympic medallists during her career so far.
“The WISH programme is something that is very dear to my heart. Anything that is empowering female coaches to lead and to get on the world stage, especially at the Olympic Games, is brilliant.
“I’ve worked tirelessly and extremely hard to get where I am today. I believe that, if I can do it, all of you women can do it too.
“Your journey may be quite different to mine, and that’s okay. As long as you get where you want to go, and you feel good about what you’re doing, that’s the most important thing.”
WISH programme success stories
Mikkonen was one of 10 coaches at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 who had taken part in the WISH programme.
“The programme was transformative for me,” she said. “The biggest takeaway was the network of women who were doing incredible things in their own fields.
“Seeing them succeed gave me confidence – it made me think, ‘If they can do that, why can’t I?’ That mindset pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and take on challenges I might have shied away from before.
“Another thing I learned from the WISH programme is that leadership isn’t about being perfect – it’s about being authentic. When you embrace who you truly are and lead with honesty and authenticity, you can inspire and empower those around you in ways you never imagined.”
Another successful graduate is Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, who recently met IOC President Thomas Bach to discuss her participation in the WISH programme.
Rekabi has also been appointed as the Athlete Role Model for sport climbing for the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026.
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi
has been selected to be a Role Model for Sport Climbing at the upcoming Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026
https://t.co/133pUaRzVP@jojdakar2026 | #WorldClimbing #Dakar2026 pic.twitter.com/I7xsuCREqT
— International Federation of Sport Climbing (@ifsclimbing) January 21, 2025
Gender equality in the athletes’ entourage
At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the IOC reached a gender equality milestone, with quota places distributed equally to male and female athletes. However, a real gender gap still exists today in the athletes’ entourage, where the number of women holding leadership roles such as Chef de Mission, Technical Official and coach remain remarkably low. At Paris 2024, only 13 per cent of the coaches were women.
The WISH programme, backed by USD 1 million in Olympic Solidarity funding, is a key part of the IOC’s strategy to addressing this disparity for future Games.
The 21-month programme includes online sessions, dual mentoring group activities and a residential week at the Institute of Sport at the University of Hertfordshire.