"Middle distance track queen…" The Daily Advertiser, December 1995

Melanie's love of athletics arose in 1984, when she joined the Young and District Little Athletics Club as a six year old.  Melanie may also have been destined to run.  One of her greatest inspirations has always been her grandad Frank Bradley.  In 1937 Frank competed in, and won the nation's most prestigious professional sprint race, the Stawell Gift.

In 1989 Melanie competed in the Trans-Tasman Challenge and won gold in the U12 400m.  She transferred to the Kooringal-Wagga Athletics Club in 1992.  A year later, Melanie won gold in the U15 400m at the NSW Little Athletics Championships, setting State and National records for an U15 Little Athlete.

Melanie's first major international competition was in 1994 as a sixteen year old, when she represented Australia in the 4 x 400m relay at the World Junior Championships in Lisbon, Portugal.  That same year, she also competed at meets in Belgium and England.  In 1995 she won gold medals in the U18 400m and 800m at both the NSW and Australian Track and Field Championships.

In 1996 Melanie toured New Zealand with the Australian Junior Team, while competing in the New Zealand Grand Prix series.  Later that year she represented Australia in the 800m at the World Junior Championships in Sydney.

Competing at the Australian University Games in 2000, Melanie won gold in the women's 800m.

When living in Wagga Wagga, Melanie's favourite running spots were the grass track at Jubilee Park, along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and through the Botanic Gardens/Willans Hill area.

Melanie no longer runs competitively, but still enjoys running to keep fit.  Her most recent event was a 4 km fun run in January 2016 in Samoa where she currently lives and works.