Mel Nash (born c. 1955) is a retired American swimmer who won a gold and a bronze medal at the world championships in 1973 and 1975.[1] He also won the 100 m backstroke event at the 1971 Pan American Games. In 1972, he was chosen by the Swimming World Magazine as the national high school swimmer of the year.[2]
Nash graduated from Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pennsylvania in 1972, and then at the Indiana University Bloomington from 1972 to 1976.[3] After graduating, he retired from swimming to become a swimming coach at the University of Texas at Arlington. Aged 22, he was the youngest head coach of any sport in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. After two years, his program was discontinued, and in the summer of 1979 Nash and his wife Carol moved to the Texas A&M University. He stayed there until 2004, raising more than 60 national team members.[4] Although he was eventually let go by the school. In 1982 and 1986 he was recognized as Southwest Conference men's coach of the year, and in 1987 as women's coach of the year. In 1991 he was the head coach of the national junior team.[2]
Nash has a daughter Kathryn and son Mel II; both are competitive swimmers.[4] Nash senior himself continued competing in the 1980s in the masters category.[2] He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where together with his wife runs the North Florida Swimming club.[5]
