Mel Marshall & Alice Dearing Inducted Into Swim England Hall Of Fame
Mel Marshall and Alice Dearing are among a quartet to have been inducted into the Swim England Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Birmingham, England.
Also honoured were former coach and chair of the British Swimming Coaches Association (BSCA) Glenn Smith and Tom Daley, who retired following Paris 2024 where he claimed the fifth Olympic medal of a glittering diving career.
The induction was part of the Swim England National Awards 2024 where 27 honours were presented recognising the contributions made by individuals and organisations from all aquatic sports.
Marshall will shortly be heading to Australia to take up a high-performance role with Swimming Australia at Griffith University Swim club.
The two-time Olympian enjoyed a fine career in the pool in which she competed at two Olympics and collected world, European and Commonwealth medals.
The 42-year-old began her poolside career at City of Derby where she started coaching a 14-year-old called Adam Peaty.
The pair blazed a pioneering trail which saw Peaty sweep all before him as he won Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles as well as setting the 50m and 100m breaststroke world records that stand today.
Dearing was the first black female swimmer to represent Great Britain at the Olympics when she contested the open water in Tokyo. She retired in April 2024 following a fine career that also encompassed world and European Championships.
The 27-year-old is also a co-founder of the Black Swimming Association whose aim is to highlight swimming as an essential life skill and to encourage participation as well as prevent drowning in black and minority ethnic communities.
Smith guided many swimmers to success on the international stage during his coaching tenure at Nova Centurion. Among them were double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, who he coached in her early years, brothers Sam and Ollie Hynd, with four Paralympic golds between them, and Charlotte Henshaw. double Paralympic silver medallist.
In total, Smith guided swimmers to 10 Paralympic medals including four golds and is today the chair of Nova Centurion as well as the BSCA.
Daley competed at five Olympics, making his debut at Beijing 2008 aged 14 before becoming 10m platform world champion in Rome the following year.
He won gold in the 10m synchro in Tokyo alongside Matty Lee and exited the international stage following silver in the same event with Noah Williams.
As well as five medals across four Olympics, the 30-year-old claimed four world and Commonwealth titles and five European golds.
Daley, who is based in Los Angeles, is an advocate and campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights, a TV personality and tireless knitter!
Following the ceremony at Birmingham University’s Great Hall, Andy Salmon, Swim England CEO, said:
“The Awards are our opportunity to recognise those people who give so much to our sports and show such dedication. It was difficult to pick the winners as each nominee was deserving of an award.
“It was wonderful to spend an afternoon with so many inspirational people gathered in one room. Congratulations to all our winners and nominees.”