Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (born 1 October 1971 in

Narromine Narromine ( /næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. The 2016 census recorded a population o ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

) is a retired

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, who specialised in sprint events. In 1995 Gainsford-Taylor won the World Indoor championship over

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. During her career she also won international

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. She is the cousin of Australian Olympic backstroke swimmer Josh Watson who won silver in the Men's 4 × 100-metre medley relay at the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug language, Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport ...

in 2000.

Junior career

In 1989, she won the first of three consecutive Australian Junior

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

titles, also winning the Junior 200 m championships in 1989 and 1991. At the 1990 World Junior Championships Gainsford reached the semi-finals of both the 100 and 200 metres sprints and assisted the Australian

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team to a new national junior record of 45.01 seconds.

Senior career

Although Gainsford-Taylor became a world champion in 1995, her senior career really began when she won the first of five 100m/200 m sprint doubles at the 1992 Australian National Championships and won selection in the Olympic team, where she made the semi-finals of the 200m. In 1993, she won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the World Indoor Championships, but later in the season broke down in the 100 m semi-finals of the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...

. During 1994, Gainsford-Taylor won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

behind her arch-rival

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...

and set an Australian record for 100 m of 11.12. A year later, she won the 200 m at the 1995 World Indoor Championships in Athletics and took home a bronze medal from the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

as part of the Australian 4 x 400 m relay team. In 1997, defending her World Indoor crown, Gainsford was disqualified for running out of her lane in the semi-final of the 200 m. Later in the year, she made up for that disappointment with a new Australian record of 22.23 seconds. Soon after, Gainsford-Taylor reached her first individual outdoor final at the Athens World Championships, placing 7th in the 200 m final. The latter part of her career was hampered by injury. Running with knee problems, she famously broke down metres before the finish when in first place during the 200 m race at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

. During her career, she won a total of thirteen individual open titles – two at 100 yards, six at 100 metres and five over 200 metres. Marion Jones Sydney 200m 2000

At her third Olympic Games at

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

she made the final of the 200 m sprint, placing 6th, and assisted the Australian 4 x 400 m relay team to a fifth-place finish and a new national record. Still holding Australian records at 100 m and 200 m, and sharing in 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m relay records, Gainsford-Taylor retired in 2002.

Family life

Gainsford-Taylor is married to Mark Taylor and the couple have two children, Nicholas and Gabriella. In 2015, Gabriella became the fastest 10-year-old girl in the country over and .

Post career

Gainsford-Taylor now works with Little Athletics New South Wales visiting schools. She also provides expert commentary for Australian TV channel One during their coverage of the Australian Athletics Tour. She is a fan of

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

team the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

and is a former board member of the club. She is also a member of the "Eagle Angels", a high-profile group of women who excel in their chosen fields and all with a passion for the Sea Eagles. Other members include comedian, author and radio personality

Wendy Harmer Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

, World Surfing Champion

Layne Beachley Layne Collette Beachley (born 24 May 1972) is a former professional surfer from Manly, New South Wales. She won the World Championship seven times. Currently she is the chair of Surfing Australia. Surfing career At the age of 16 Beachley ...

, newsreader

Tracey Spicer Tracey Leigh Spicer is an Australian newsreader, Walkley Award-winning journalist and social justice advocate. She is known for her association with Network Ten as a newsreader in the 1990s and 2000s when she co-hosted ''Ten Eyewitness News'' ...

, and swimmer

Brooke Hanson Brooke Louise Hanson, OAM (born 18 March 1978) is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, and former world record-holder. Career A swimmer since the age of four, Hanson was the youngest swimmer on t ...

. In 2017 Gainsford-Taylor was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for significant service to athletics as a sprinter, at the national and international level, and as a role model for young athletes.

Statistics

Personal Bests – outdoor Personal Bests – indoor

National records

Outdoor Relays Indoor

References

Athletics Australia Profile
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'Melinda Gainsford-Taylor discusses her kids

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gainsford-Taylor, Melinda 1971 births Australian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Olympic athletes of Australia Living people World Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Members of the Order of Australia World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games