Mel Marshall 'privileged' to win High Performance Coach of the Year award

Mel Marshall admitted it was a real privilege to be named High Performance Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards.

Marshall, who is part of the Team GB coaching staff for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next summer and also Adam Peaty’s coach, beat Nelson Lindsay, who coaches British Paralympic swimmer Bethany Firth, wheelchair curling’s Sheila Swan and hockey’s Zak Jones to the title.

However, she was pipped to a second award by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who was named winner of the Great Coaching Moment of the Year prize.

Marshall had been shortlisted for the public vote for helping Peaty become the first man to swim the 100m Breaststroke in under 57 seconds in the semi-finals at the World Championships in South Korea  – a title he ultimately won along with two other golds.

Helping people realise their dreams

The coach behind @adam_peaty’s success at this year’s World Championships, @massivemel gives us her reaction to winning High Performance Coach of the Year 🏊‍♂️#GreatCoachingpic.twitter.com/cvrcE2xKLj

— UK Coaching (@_UKCoaching) December 6, 2019

Her long-time relationship with Peaty, which goes back to when the breaststroke specialist was 12, has seen the swimmer break world records and win multiple Olympic, world, Commonwealth and European titles.

Marshall said: “It’s a real privilege to win on a really nice evening and especially to hear some of the stories in the room today.

“It’s great to celebrate other people’s successes. As a coach, I love seeing people flourish and I’ve always wanted to be that person that can help somebody to realise their dreams.”