Usuario:Cobalttempest/Sandbox/MGainsford-Taylor

Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (born October 1, 1971 in Narromine, New South Wales) is an Australian athlete specialising in sprint events. She regularly won national titles, particularly in her favoured 200m sprint. Furthermore she won a silver medal and gold medal at the 1993 and 1995 World Indoor Championships respectively. However the latter part of her career was hampered by knee injuries, famously breaking down metres before winning the 200m race at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She retired in 2002.

Gainsford-Taylor started her athletic career at the age of six years, running with Little Athletics in the small north west country town Trangie in NSW, Australia. At fourteen years of age Mel moved to a private school in Sydney to train and be closer to her coach Jackie Byrnes.