2018 was an amazing year for all round Para athlete Michael Mellon from Cardenden. Michael was the only Scot involved in the Invictus Games in Australia in October 2018. Michael committed to attending training camps throughout the year past south of the border and this enormous family commitment paid off handsomely when he returned home as a medalist in three team sports.
Preparation camps were held from January through to the trials during the first week in April at Bath University over four days. Is it possible to identify a location further away from Fife than Bath? Throughout his Invictus Games commitment Michael always found time to support the DSF programme. I recall him turning up at the SDS Scottish Senior Track and Field championships to throw the javelin for team points and then immediately head south for a training camp. What a committed team player and exceptional role model this man is.
Michael had to wait a month post trials until he found out he had been selected for the Games. Thereafter there was jubilation followed by an even greater commitment to the Invictus cause. It was not surprising to those of us who know Michael that he was selected for three team sports – sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball. He is after all a great all rounder.
On May 8th Michael found out that he had officially been selected for the Team UK Squad and one week later he traveled to London for the press launch at the Horse Guards Parade. This was a particularly special occasion for the ex military man and a memory he will cherish forever.
Spending time with fellow Invictus team members for the first time was also very special and inspiring.
It was only a matter of a few days and Michael was off to his first training camp. A lesser mortal may have panicked at this point when he saw the schedule ahead of 20 training camps for his three team sports. The majority of camps were in the Midlands which made travelling so much easier for the man from Fife. Team members arrived Friday evening and returned home on Sunday evening. The schedule from May to October interfered greatly with family life but Michael knew from the very start that his wife and children were behind him all the way and so proud that he was included in the squad.
Every athlete involved with the UK team was entitled to two fully funded spaces for friends and family to attend the Sydney Games. If team members had children then it was possible to apply for them to travel also. The Royal British Legion provided the friends and family package for all team members and Michael and his team mates appreciated having family close, so far from home. Medalists and non medalists alike received the same level of quality support.
Training weekends flew by and before he knew it Michael was on the 23 hour flight from Heathrow to Sydney with a short stopover in Singapore. Michael wasn’t due to start competition until the fourth day and the first few days were about training sessions, team meetings and sport specific technical meetings.
Michael’s first two day competition was sitting volleyball and back home we all managed to see the matches courtesy of the BBC. Team UK made it through to the final against Georgia but lost out to a technically superior squad. There was understandably great satisfaction in the Team UK at winning the silver medal.
The following day Michael went straight into the wheelchair rugby competition. Team UK played all of their five pool games in one day and lost only one after extra time and the golden goal rule. Team UK made it to the final against hosts Australia. Michael believes that ill discipline and some basic errors resulted in a silver as a opposed to a gold medal performance.
Once again there was no rest for Michael and the next day he was straight on to the wheelchair basketball court. With a small squad of only seven players, Team UK played really well against strong teams like the Netherlands and USA who had players who had represented their country at the Paralympic Games. Once again Team UK played exceptionally well and made it to the bronze medal play off where they defeated New Zealand.
Like every international high performance sportsman Michael’s goal before the Games was to win a gold medal. On this occasion that did not happen but he achieved an enormous amount with little or no rest throughout the Games. Michael is determined to compete for a place in Team UK for the 2020 Invictus Games in the Hague in the Netherlands. The training camps for 2020 will start shortly with the trials at the end of 2019.
Since returning from Australia Michael has had shoulder problems. He has osteoarthritis in his right shoulder along with bony changes in the AC joint narrowing of the joint and a shoulder impingement. Michael has an excellent physio programme to follow and hopefully in time this will ease his pain and allow him to return to the gym and other sport specific training.
Apart from the Invictus Games, Michael captained the Scotland Wheelchair Rugby League team in the Celtic Cup in North Wales at the end of April. The results never went the way of Scotland but the team has identified some talented young players who will make a significant contribution in the future.
Being the kind of guy he is Michael of course always pays tribute to those have coached him over the past year. Behind Team UK there was an amazing team of Invictus coaches who managed to get the best out of everybody. Dundee Dragons wheelchair sports club, Lothian Phoenix basketball, Caledonian Crashers wheelchair rugby club and everybody behind those great clubs played their parts in supporting Michael throughout 2018. Disability Sport Fife is proud to have Michael as an active member and although his athletics took a bit of a back seat in 2018 he still managed to retain his javelin title at the Scottish Championships.
Michael is delighted to be back at Kirkcaldy Rugby Club coaching the under 13 and under 14 youth team twice a week with games on Sundays. Michael is also involved with a local charity called “sporting memories” that supports those with dementia, Parkinson’s and loneliness. The charity aims to get people out and about and socialising. It uses sport as the topic of common interest. There are 32 groups across Scotland and the charity is planning to set up a new group in Kirkcaldy. The Kirkcaldy group will be the only one in Fife.
Michael Mellon has had a wonderful 2018 and a trip of a lifetime to Sydney. Michael is a wonderful Fife role model and an excellent all round sportsman. Michael is a team player and is passionate about being involved in the community as a volunteer. Michael is a proud father and a real family man. Disability Sport Fife is very proud of Michael Mellon and all that he achieved in 2018 and before.
Richard Brickley MBE – President Disability Sport Fife