About this episode
Mel Bardsley shares her journey from competitive artistic swimming to coaching open water swimmers.
Mel Bardsley has never just “gone for a swim.” From representing her country in artistic swimming to winning BUCS university water polo championships and competing in National League Division 1, she’s spent a lifetime pushing limits in the water. She’s swum the English Channel in a relay, claimed Masters surf lifesaving titles, and now coaches open water swimmers from her base in Bude, North Cornwall after leaving school teaching to launch Swimscape Cornwall. In this fun episode, we div...
People in this episode
Host: Joe Malone
Guest: Mel Bardsley
Topics covered
- artistic swimming
- water polo
- open water coaching
- lifesaving
- swimming achievements
Keywords
- artistic swimming
- water polo
- open water swimming
- lifesaving
- English Channel
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Swimscape Cornwall
Places: Bude, North Cornwall
More episodes of Freestyle Media
- #189: Aberdeen Awaits: Previewing British Masters 2026 with Charlie Harris · June 8, 2026 · 47 min
- #188: Sam Lawman's Pre-Race Routines That Work · June 1, 2026 · 31 min
- #187: Jo Corben’s Training Camp Tales · May 25, 2026 · 47 min
- #186: Nicola Charlesworth on Masters Swimming, Deaflympics and Determination · May 18, 2026 · 40 min
- #185: Swimming Pool to Sofa: Rehab Reality with Chris Malpass · May 11, 2026 · 37 min
- #184: Racing Through Olympic History · May 4, 2026 · 45 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Freestyle Media podcast page.