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Melanie MARGALIS
Sport Swimming
NOC United States   
GenderWomen
Born30 Dec 1991 in St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Height1.73 m
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
 Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club [MAAC]: United States
Further Personal Information
Higher education
 Fashion Design - University of Georgia: Athens, GA, USA
General Interest
Famous relatives
 Her older brother Robert has represented the United States of America in swimming. He won bronze in the 400m individual medley at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her older sister Stephanie swam at the University of South Carolina in the United States of America. (womeninswimming.com, 01 Aug 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2016; georgiadogs.com, 11 Dec 2013)
Hero / Idol
 US swimmer Elizabeth Beisel. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 04 May 2020)
Further Personal Information
Occupation
 Athlete, Education Professional
Languages
 English
General Interest
Nicknames
 Mel (Twitter profile, 22 Jun 2018)
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
 She began swimming at age 10. She started taking it more seriously at high school.
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
 "Have as much fun as possible. That is my number one thing. I'm always smiling, so I always tell other people to do that. Even if you don't feel like smiling, you force yourself to smile and you feel that happiness. When you are having fun, smiling and laughing, it really makes you swim so much better. My teammates that I like to swim by are the ones that make me laugh, and that's helpful in practice to get you through everything." (zwemza.com, 20 Sep 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
 She followed her older brother into the sport.
General Interest
Other information
 TOKYO AIM
She worked with a sports psychologist to help change her approach to the 400m individual medley in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her aim of competing in the 400m individual medley in Tokyo was inspired by one of her heroes, Elizabeth Beisel, who represented the United States of America in the event at the Olympic Games in 2008, 2012, and 2016. "Beisel is a point of inspiration. She's actually about a year younger than me, but growing up, my club coach used to tell me that one day I could grow up and be Elizabeth Beisel. I looked up to her swimming for as long as I could remember. The [400m individual medley] freaks me out so bad. I wish it didn't. People are like, Mel, you're so good. I'm like, you don't understand what it does to me." (olympics.nbcsports.com, 04 May 2020)

TURNING PRO
She said she enjoyed the transition from collegiate to professional swimming. "What's been most surprising to me about being a professional swimmer is that I never realised I would end up caring as much about how my USA teammates perform just as much as I cared about my [University of] Georgia teammates performing. In my head, being a professional swimmer seemed like it would be a lonely job, but thankfully, I've found it to be the opposite." (usaswimming.org, 30 Aug 2019)
Most influential person in career
 US swimmer [and her older brother] Robert Margalis. (usaswimming.org, 01 May 2015)
Milestones
 In October 2020 she became the first female US swimmer to break the 58-second barrier in the 100m individual medley, recording a time of 57.94s at an International Swimming League [ISL] meet in Budapest, Hungary. (swimswam.com, 27 Oct 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
 Michael Norment [club], USA
Training Regime
 She trains at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, United States of America.

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 200m Individual Medley 2:09.21
1 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay  
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2019 Gwangju, KOR 200m Individual Medley 2:08.91
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:41.87
1 2019 Gwangju, KOR 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
4 2017 Budapest, HUN 200m Individual Medley 2:09.82 
1 2017 Budapest, HUN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:43.39
7 2015 Kazan, RUS 200m Individual Medley 2:10.41
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
4 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 200m Individual Medley 2:06.02
3 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 400m Individual Medley 4:26.63
Heats 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 200m Breaststroke 2:22.57
7 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 100m Individual Medley 59.10
2 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:36.53
2 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 200m Individual Medley 2:04.62
4 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 100m Individual Medley 58.32
2 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 400m Individual Medley 4:25.84
2 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 7:35.30
1 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 4 x 100m Medley Relay  
Heats 2014 Doha, QAT 200m Breaststroke 2:23.74
3 2014 Doha, QAT 200m Individual Medley 2:06.68
Heats 2014 Doha, QAT 100m Breaststroke 1:06.13
6 2014 Doha, QAT 100m Individual Medley 58.86
Semifinal 2012 Istanbul, TUR 100m Individual Medley 1:00.12
6 2012 Istanbul, TUR 200m Individual Medley 2:08.63
World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
21 2018   Overall Ranking  
6 2018 Budapest, HUN 100m Individual Medley 59.11
3 2018 Budapest, HUN 200m Breaststroke 2:20.30
4 2018 Budapest, HUN 200m Freestyle 1:53.57
2 2018 Budapest, HUN 200m Individual Medley 2:04.65
6 2018 Eindhoven, NED 100m Individual Medley 59.05
4 2018 Eindhoven, NED 200m Breaststroke 2:20.29
4 2018 Eindhoven, NED 200m Freestyle 1:54.30
6 2018 Eindhoven, NED 100m Breaststroke 1:06.25
2 2018 Eindhoven, NED 200m Individual Medley 2:06.04
37 2017   Overall  
4 2017 Eindhoven, NED 200m Freestyle 1:53.66
4 2017 Eindhoven, NED 100m Breaststroke 1:05.27
2 2017 Eindhoven, NED 200m Individual Medley 2:05.65
4 2017 Eindhoven, NED 50m Breaststroke 30.68
3 2017 Eindhoven, NED 4 x 50m Medley Relay 1:39.85