- Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
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Medal record 
Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (second from the right) at Olympic Games in 2000 in Sydney.Women’s Athletics Competitor for 
AustraliaWorld Championships Bronze 1995 Gothenburg 4x400 m relay World Indoor Championships Gold 1995 Barcelona 200 m Silver 1993 Toronto 200 m Commonwealth Games Silver 1994 Victoria 4x100 m relay Bronze 1994 Victoria 200 m Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (born 1 October 1971 in Narromine, New South Wales) is a retired Australian athlete who specialised in sprint events.
In 1995 she won the World Indoor championship over 200 m. During her career she also won international medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Contents
Junior career
Gainsford-Taylor started her athletic career at the age of nine when she was running with Little Athletics in the small north west country town Trangie in New South Wales. At fourteen years of age Melinda moved to a Sydney to board at St Vincent's College, Potts Point, in order to train and be closer to her coach/trainer Jackie Byrnes.
In 1989, she won the first of three consecutive Australian Junior 100 m 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 4x100 metres relay team to a new national junior record of 45.01 seconds.
Senior career
Melinda won the first of five 100 m/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 200 m.
In 1993, she won a silver medal 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.
During 1994, Gainsford won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games behind her arch-rival Cathy Freeman 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 as part of the Australian 4x400 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 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.
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.
At her third Olympic Games at Sydney 2000 she made the final of the 200 m sprint, placing 6th, and assisted the Australian 4x400 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 4x100 m and 4x400 m relay records, Gainsford-Taylor retired in 2002.
Melinda now works with Little Athletics New South Wales visiting schools.[1]
Family life
Melinda is married to Mark Taylor (not the former Australian Cricket Captain of the same name) and the couple have two children, Nicholas and Gabriella.
Statistics
Personal Bests - outdoor
Event Time Wind City Date 100 Yards 10.4 NWI Adelaide 11 Dec 94 100 Metres 11.12 +1.9 Sestriere 31 Jul 94 200 Metres 22.23 +0.8 Stuttgart 13 Jul 97 400 Metres 51.73 Brisbane 22 Jul 00 Personal Bests - indoor
Event Time City Date 60 Metres 7.36 Toronto Mar 93 200 Metres 22.64 Barcelona 10 Mar 95 National records
Outdoor
Event Time City Date 100 Metres 11.12 Sestriere 31 Jul 94 200 Metres 22.32 Hobart 26 Feb 94 22.23 Stuttgart 13 Jul 97 Relays
Event Time City Date Team 4x100 Metres relay 42.99 Pietersburg 18 Mar 00 Rachael Massey, Suzanne Broadrick, Jodi Lambert 4x400 Metres relay 3-23.81 Sydney 30 Sep 00 Nova Peris, Tamsyn Lewis, Cathy Freeman Indoor
Event Time City Date 200 Metres 23.16 Toronto Mar 93 200 Metres 22.83 Toronto Mar 93 200 Metres 22.73 Toronto Mar 93 200 Metres 22.64 Barcelona 11 Mar 95 200 Metres 22.64 Barcelona 11 Mar 95 References
- Athletics Australia Profile
- IAAF profile for Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
- 'Melinda Gainsford-Taylor discusses her kids
Notes
- ^ Dagwell, Todd (2008-09-02). "Little athletes called". News Limited (Penrith Press). http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/little-athletes-called/. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
World Indoor Champions in Women's 200 m 1985: Marita Koch (GDR) • 1987: Heike Drechsler (GDR) • 1989 – 1991: Merlene Ottey (JAM) • 1993: Irina Privalova (RUS) • 1995: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (AUS) • 1997: Ekaterini Koffa (GRE) • 1999: Ionela Târlea (ROM) • 2001: Juliet Campbell (JAM) • 2003: Muriel Hurtis (FRA) • 2004: Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (RUS)
Australian National Champions in Women's 100 m 1967 – 1968: Dianne Burge • 1969: Jenny Lamy • 1970 – 1973: Raelene Boyle • 1974 – 1975: Denise Boyd • 1976 – 1977: Raelene Boyle • 1978: Debbie Wells • 1979 – 1980: Denise Boyd • 1981: Debbie Wells • 1982: Helen Davey • 1983: Diane Holden • 1984: Debbie Wells • 1985: Jenny Flaherty and Diane Holden • 1986 – 1987: Diane Holden • 1988: Jane Flemming • 1989: Sue Broadrick • 1990: Jane Flemming • 1991: Monique Dunstan • 1992 – 1993: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor • 1994: Gwen Torrence (USA) • 1995: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor • 1996: Cathy Freeman • 1997 – 1998: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor • 1999: Lauren Hewitt • 2000: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor • 2001 – 2002: Lauren Hewitt • 2003: Sharon Cripps • 2004: Gloria Kemasuode (NGR) • 2005 – 2007: Sally McLellan • 2008: Fiona Cullen • 2009: Sally McLellan
Categories:- 1971 births
- Australian 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
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