Victoria athlete with Down syndrome earns global open-water swim nomination

When Meliah Motchman started swimming in the open ocean, she felt the sort of fear that’s accompanied by the soundtrack to Jaws. But it wasn’t about sharks.

“Seaweed,” the 30-year-old says. “Seaweed makes me feel afraid.”

That may sound silly, but Motchman’s coach, ultra-marathon swimmer Susan Simmons, agrees that seaweed can be insidious.

“It can be shocking when you suddenly feel it,” Simmons says. “When you’re going through a kelp forest, you can easily get caught up in that.”

Before facing that fear, Motchman had to overcome the numerous challenges of learning to swim without a wetsuit in water just 10 degrees above freezing.

“You feel the cold rush up your whole body,” Simmons says. “It can be a little bit painful.”

But slowly you acclimate to the temperature. “Then you just swim,” Simmons smiles. “And you feel pure joy.”

That joy has fuelled Motchman to achieve the fitness level necessary to endure the ocean’s waves and currents for her five-kilometre swims.

“When you get to the third hour, you’re basically a raisin and want to get out,” Simmons says.

“Swimming is my life,” Motchman smiles. “It makes me happy.”

So she decided to help spread some happiness during the pandemic by joining the Spirit Orcas, a team of athletes with intellectual disabilities, and swimming 80 kilometres to raise money for COVID-19 relief.

It was during one of the legs of the fundraiser that Motchman unexpectedly swam into a kelp forest.

There’s video of the encounter. You can hear screams and then see Simmons (who was in the water with her), swim over to comfort her.

The coach helps her persevere through her panic. Although it’s hard to hear everything that’s being said, it seems to help when Simmons reminds Motchman about seaweed’s role in sushi.

Another video shows Motchman swimming back to shore after hours of swimming. She overcame her fear and she cheers triumphantly, “Go team!”

Now Motchman is one of 15 international athletes to be nominated for the World Open Water Swim Association's Performance of the Year award, and the first person with Down syndrome to earn the recognition.

“She’s determined. She’s tough,” Simmons says. “She’s one of the most devoted athletes I’ve ever seen.”

And no matter what the outcome, Motchman says she says feels like a winner, whether she’s eating seaweed at a Japanese restaurant or inspiring others in the water.