Mel Marshall says Adam Peaty is “bouncing around” at the prospect of competing in the Olympic Games this summer. “There’s only so many things that can bring that kind of inspiration,” she says. “The Olympics gives people something to look forward to, it’s the next stage in our Covid recovery. The language should be ‘let’s make it happen’ and it’s a privilege to be part of it.”
Peaty’s coach is relishing the prospect of a games many fear are cursed. The pent-up athletic energy, she believes, could make it one of the greatest Games if it goes ahead. If you are looking for doubt or diplomatic equivocation, you will not get it from the 39‑year‑old double Olympian turned ceiling-smashing coach.
Since Peaty came under her wing at the City of Derby Swimming Club aged 14, Marshall has formed a bond with him that has sent world records tumbling and left medals piling up. He calls her one of “the strongest people I’ve ever met” while she says at home she is a bit of a crier. It is a rare dynamic, that of female coach and male athlete, and on International Women’s Day, Marshall is here to argue for more of it.
“I think we listen well, I think that we take time, I think that we care well, I think that we are diligent,” Marshall says, describing what she believes are the common qualities of female coaches. “I think that we qualify ourselves, I think that we educate ourselves, I think that our CVs are full.
“I just think there’s so many great traits to females and what we bring. There’s feminine ways of doing things and there’s masculine ways of doing things. I think it’s the job of the female to exhibit feminine qualities and masculine qualities and the responsibility of the males to [do the same], and there’s a responsibility on both to do better.”
According to research by the coaching charity UK Coaching only 10% of elite coaching roles are held by women. Across the board, the share of female coaches in the workforce was under 50% and in decline, even before the pandemic. UK Coaching is calling for gender parity within five years, while UK Sport recently launched a leadership programme aimed at doubling female Olympic and Paralympic representation by Paris 2024.
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Marshall is reluctant to discuss the barriers women may face in breaking into the top ranks of coaching. In fact, she is positively against it, insisting instead on amplifying a constructive message. “Rather than looking for faults and blame where it’s not working, let’s look at equality, 50/50, and how do we create more opportunities?”
Some of those opportunities admittedly are what she calls “platforms”, ie jobs. But Marshall also wants better projection for female role models and greater encouragement for those on the way up; so they believe that they can achieve. “I was really lucky that I had a dad who was incredibly competitive and a mum that was incredibly supportive and so I was able to push through,” she says. “But bring women and what they’re doing well to the forefront and people will follow.”
Marshall, who was working with 400 children a week at City of Derby, has been that positive influence for some time. She knows that the rewards of equality will be tangible for all. “That’s when it becomes really interesting,” she says. “When you’ve got equality and diversity, the things that can be achieved are so much more spectacular than if you’ve got the same type of person. If you look at Cirque du Soleil, right? The best people from the artistic world and the best people from the gymnastic world. They came together, came into conflict, had conversations, came up with a new concept and basically charge people £200 a ticket”.
She smiles. Marshall is hardly in it for the money, but she has made her point.