Mel Tantrum: Open Water Coaching, Athlete Development and High-Performance Leadership
5/18/202637 min
In this episode, I’m joined by Mel Tantrum, one of Australia’s most experienced swimming coaches, with a career spanning open water, high performance and now para swimming at the national level.
Mel reflects on her journey from swimmer to coach, the experiences that shaped her coaching philosophy and the lessons she wishes she had known earlier in her own swimming career. We explore the unique demands of open water racing, including decision-making, race skills, pack positioning and preparing athletes for unpredictable environments.
The conversation also dives into athlete development, coaching across different pathways and how Mel’s experiences leading both Australian open water and para swimming programs have influenced the way she thinks about performance, leadership and creating environments where athletes can thrive.
We also finish with a few lighter questions around favourite swim sets, coaching habits and what great swimmers tend to do differently.
Whether you’re an open water swimmer, coach, or simply interested in high-performance sport, there’s plenty of insight in this conversation.
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This interview was recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar. I acknowledge the Noongar people as the Traditional Custodians of these lands and waters and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGrant Landers· Host0:00
[waves crashing] Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Mel Tantrum, one of Australia's most experienced and respected swim coaches, with a career spanning open water, high performance, and now para-swimming at the national level. Mel's coaching journey began here in WA, working across both pool and open water environments, including developing athletes for events like the Rottnest Channel Swim. She went on to become the head coach of the Australian Open Water Team, and notably the first female to hold a senior national head coach role in Australian swimming. More recently, Mel has taken the role of national head coach for para-swimming in Australia, bringing that same depth of experience into a space that demands both high-performance insight and a highly individualized approach to coaching.
Mel Tantrum· Guest0:48
Mm-hmm.
Grant Landers· Host0:49
What makes this conversation particularly interesting is the breadth of Mel's experience, from grassroots through to national leadership and across very different performance environments, and how that has shaped her coaching philosophy over time. So in this episode, we explore her journey from swimmer to coach, what it really takes to succeed in open water, and how her experiences are now influencing her work in the para space. Mel, it's great to have you on the podcast.
Mel Tantrum· Guest1:14
Thank you, Grant, and it's been so nice to, uh, finally reconnect and share some knowledge and information with you. So looking forward to this.
Grant Landers· Host1:24
Thinking backward to yourself as a younger swimmer, what