A former Loughborough College student and Olympic swimmer is spearheading a nationwide programme to improve gender diversity across elite sport.
Top swim coach Mel Marshall, 38, will work as part of UK Sport’s leadership programme to “more than double” the number of female coaches in Olympic and Paralympic high-performance sports by the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Mel, who is the long-time coach of Olympic champion Adam Peaty, studied at Loughborough College and is herself a two-time GB Olympian and currently leads the elite program at the Loughborough National Swimming Centre.
She is one of six coaches who will “provide key support and development opportunities for the next aspiring generation of elite coaches”.
Mel said: “Being involved with women in sport and women in coaching, giving them a greater platform, is a big honour. I feel really privileged to have been asked.
“What I hope to achieve from the role is to create an open space where people can talk, explore what’s going on and provide opportunities to offer support and help in what can be a difficult landscape in coaching and being a female in coaching.
“Longer term, I would always like to be someone people feel they can talk to for advice but I’m also a great believer in reciprocal mentoring so I hope to learn from them as well.”
Mel said she learned from some great teachers during her time at Loughborough College where she studied an HND qualification.
“I had some great teachers and role models who really helped me develop through the applied learning approach,” she said.
Mel is currently working with British swimmers in the build up to the Tokyo Olympics next summer. And she’s feeling confident.
She said: “We’ve had some good results and we’re on a nice trajectory for the Games even though we’ve lost some time in the water. I think we’ve prepared well and have won everything we could have won. The team has made the best of every situation.”
Currently, only 10% of coaching positions across UK Sport-funded Olympic and Paralympic programmes are held by women. The government agency aims to see that number increase to 25% over the next four years.
Mel represented Great Britain at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, owns three World Championship medals and is a two-time European champion.
Photo: Provided courtesy of Loughborough University