Mel is an Olympic Coach, Head of High Performance for Swimming Australia and a Belief Partner at The Leadership High (TLH).
Mel took up her exciting new challenge and role in January 2025 and is based at the Australian Aquatic Centre on the Gold Coast. Mel is working with the Australian team as they now prepare for the next Olympic Games in LA 2028.
Mel’s extraordinary career as an Olympic Coach for Great Britain resulted in over 20 international medals across the World, European and Commonwealth Games. Mel coached the fastest human on the planet at breaststroke, Adam Peaty OBE for 16 years, who has won 3 Olympic gold medal titles.
Mel is also a double Olympian herself, five-time Olympic finalist, and the second most decorated female at the Commonwealth Games – taking home no less than six medals at the 2006 Melbourne Games alone. In 2004, she was ranked number one in the world when she broke the British 200m freestyle record, which cemented her place in the Olympic Games in Athens.
Mel announced her retirement from swimming following the 2008 Beijing Olympics and started her world-leading career as an elite coach. She joined City of Derby Swimming Club as Head Coach, before joining Loughborough University in 2017 as the National Centre Lead Coach for British Swimming.
As a coach Mel has been recognised for her coaching excellence winning British Swimming Coach of the year three times in a row and in 2014 Mel was named UK Sports Coach of the year. Mel was shortlisted for the 2021 BBC Coach of the Year award.
Mel has a BSc in Sports Science and an honorary Doctorate from Loughborough University.
Mel is passionate about helping people go ‘in pursuit of better’ and TLH are absolutely delighted that Mel is part of the TLH Team as a Belief Partner to help guide us and our clients.
