aka Madame Butterfly
Meliah is a recent addition to the Spirit Orcas. She trained hard to become a part of the team. In 2019, Meliah was the first known person with Down syndrome in Canada to swim 5 kilometres in the open water. She complete this swim in Thetis Lake on Vancouver Island.
Meliah swims to stay fit. She has been using swimming and veganism as weight management tools since 2016. She has proudly lost over 40 pounds.
A natural in the water, Meliah swims in the pool, lake and ocean. In addition to swimming on Spirit Orcas relays she is also learning to coach and hopes to become the first person with Down syndrome to complete a 10 kilometre skin swim (non-wetsuit).
Achievements:
2018 – Thetis Lake Swim for Multiple Sclerosis – 800 metres
2019 – Meliah’s Big Swim, first known person with Down syndrome to swim 5km without a wetsuit
2020 – The Great Big Swim, 80km staged relay member
2021 – 5km Ocean Swim
2021 – World Open Water Swim Association Performance of the Year nomination
2022 – Special Olympics Norman Davy Award
2022 – The Great Bear Swim, Hunter Channel 15km relay member
2022 – 10km Ocean Swim
Media:
2019 – CTV News Vancouver Island – Gruelling swim for woman with Down Syndrome
2022 – Victoria Special Olympics swimmer nominated for international open water award, Victoria News
2022 – Madam Butterfly, Meliah Motchman, BC Disability
2022 – Sawatsky Sign-Off: Becoming a Contender, CTV News Vancouver Island