How a late starter went from Buderim to gold glory

6:00a.m. 27th March 2007

By PETER GARDINER

THE buzz the Sunshine Coast is enjoying from having a world swimming champion is nothing compared with the sheer exhilaration still coursing through the super-fit body of Buderims Melanie Schlanger.

So "wired" was the 20-year-old after the Australian 4x100 metres womens relay upset of the United States that yesterday she was still struggling to come down from the biggest high of her life.

"I didnt get any sleep last night," Melanie said from Melbourne.

While Libby Lenton and Jodie Henry, who produced an amazing anchor leg, were already crowd favourites, Melanie and team mate Shayne Reese have become instant national heroes for their tenacious against-the-odds performances. Melanie swam the race of her life, having overcome a debilitating virus last year which caused her to faint after training sessions, beating her previous best 100m time by almost a second to record a world class 53.95.

Mel, as her Coast mates call her, could have been forgiven for a severe case of stage fright as she dived off the blocks for the crucial second leg.

"I was thinking I dont want to let Libby and the team down," Melanie said.

"I couldnt believe the noise from the crowd".

Up in the stands Melanies euphoric parents Paul and Linda were savouring the moment knowing how much their daughter had come through to get to this far and hoping it had put Melanie in line for a crack at the Beijing Olympics.

"She has just got so much guts and determination I knew she would hang in there." Linda said. Linda said her daughters late entry into serious swimming has probably turned out to be a major advantage for her.

Until she was 14, Melanie concentrated all her efforts on Little Athletics, where she was a high jumper who dabbled in the shot put.