about me

I AM

MELANIE RINALDI

It all began for Melanie when she was discovered bouncing the diving boards at a public pool at age 13. Having had no formal training in any sports whatsoever, she was discouraged from fully committing to the sport because she was considered too old. Her passion for the water and acrobatics fueled her desire to continue on and within a year she was competing at the Junior National Championships alongside World Champions. Two years following, she competed at her first Senior National Championships at age 16 and by the time she was 18 she was top in the country. At 20 years old she competed in her first Olympic Trials placing 6th and was recruited on a full-athletic scholarship to the University of Miami.

Although Melanie had been exposed to exceptional technical coaching in Montreal, it was at the University of Miami under coaches Randy Ableman and Dario DiFazio that she was able to learn how to tap into the mental component of Elite training and competition. Within her first two years at the U, her performance excelled and she ranked top 3 in the country, placing her on Canada's National Team and allowing her to now compete internationally. She continued to excel qualifying for World Championships individually placing 10th in the world and winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, all while competing at the Collegiate level winning ACC Championships, ACC MVP and All-American honors.

Being a high level athlete places extremely high demands on your body and injuries began to plague her. After 2 surgical knee repairs (ACL & Meniscal), 3 stress fractures in her lumbar spine (L2, L3, L5) and a destructive shoulder injury (Teres minor, supra spinatus, biceps, labrum tears), Melanie began to fall apart. She narrowly missed making the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the surgical repair of her shoulder severely impeded her training for the 2012 London Games. It was during those difficult moments in her life that Melanie developed her resiliency, determination and commitment towards excellence. Even though specialists has projected that she would be unable to return to her athletic ability following her shoulder reconstruction, she was back on the podium placing 3rd at Nationals only 13 months following her repair. Although it was not enough to solidify her spot on the Olympic team, Melanie surpassed expectations and predictions of what she would be able to accomplish.