As Rio Looms On The Beautiful Horizon Of Brazilian Camp, Marshall Law Feels Good

Not so much third time lucky but third time prepared is how Mel Marshall sees her third Olympic Games as Rio looms large on the Belo Horizonte (Beautiful horizon in Portuguese).

She’s been here before but not in the same place: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 as a swimmer racing in Great Britain colours in the midst of a career that delivered a silver at world l/c champs, silver and bronze at world s/c champs, two gold, two silver and a brnze at European level and five silver, two bronze at the Commonwealth Games, all but one of those medals collected at Melbourne 2006. Basically, she knows what it feels like; knows what its like to go into the Olympics ranked wold No 1 (200 free), make the final and come away with that as the prize.

For the bulk of the past two Olympic cycles, she’s been a coach and much of that time she’s had a boy-to-man called Adam Peaty working under her guidance. More on that as the day gets closer but suffice it to say, the partnership has worked. And how.

Now starts the craft of the coach at an Olympic Games but Marshall is among those who brings to her job on deck the experience of an athlete who was still a teen when Sydney 2000 unfolded and Anthony Ervin was sharing dash gold with teammate Gary Hall Jr.

Now 34, the Boston-born, City of Derby pioneering coach of the year (first woman and first, then, to keep the crown) for Britain in 2014 and 2015, is, as nature would have it, still a year younger than Ervin as he races in Olympic waters once more – and only a couple of seasons older than Michael Phelps, Laszlo Cseh and the thirtysomethings who will fly the flag of longevity in Rio for eight days from August 6.

Athlete-coach; different jobs, says Marshall, whose law has worked a treat: she’s been coach, guide, friend, support, funder, firm hand, maturity, smart swim mind and more to Peaty since before the moment he stood in a field while contemplating what Craig Benson had swum at London 2012 and pondered the place he found himself in. As he put it after making the Olympic team this past spring:

“I was literally ready to go out and get drunk in a field or something stupid like that. It was like a ‘what am I doing with my life? kind of moment. From then, I watched all the Olympics and said to myself that I would make the next one. That was …

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