Meliah Motchman
Meliah Motchman (nickname Madame Butterfly) (born 4 December 1991) is a 31-year-old Canadian open water swimmer, coach, and member of the Spirit Orcas.
Contents
Open Water Swimming Highlights
- She participated in The Great Big Swim, an 8-week 80 km stage swim from Brentwood Bay to Esquimalt Lagoon in Canada by the Spirit Orcas to raise funds for COVID Relief in July - August 2020 together with Cheyenne Furlong Goos (nicknames Chey or Cheybee), Maria Sharock (nickname Pizza), Aly White (nickname Flipper), Dixon McGowan (nickname Dixonator), Drew Sabourin (Drewsie), Ben Vanlierop (nickname Benny), Lidia White (nickname Lidster), Susan Simmons, and Jasmine Kremer.
- On 5 August 2019, she swam 5 km in Thetis Lake in British Columbia, Canada.
- She participated in a 15 km relay from Drifter’s Cove to Hippie Island in Great Bear, Canada at the age of 31.
- She completed a 10 km ocean swim in Pat Bay on Vancouver Island, Canada at the age of 31.
The Great Big Swim
2021 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year Award Nomination
She was nominated for the 2021 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year Award. The winners and nominees included:
Winner: Avram Iancu (Romania)
First Runner-up: José Eduardo do Amaral Ferreira (Brazil)
Second Runner-up: Jordan Leckey (Ireland)
4. Krzysztof Gajewski (Poland)
5. Meliah Motchman (Canada)
6. Courtney Moates Paulk (USA)
7. Rusya – Türkiye Uluslararasi Karadeniz 320 km Açik Deniz Yüzme Maratonu (Russia – Turkey)
8. Jennifer Dutton (USA)
9. John Batchelder (USA)
10. Serge Gellé and Andrianarison Jimmy Laitsara (Madagascar)
11. Qing Li (USA)
12. Défi Titicaca (France)
13. Anna Brown (Andorra)
14. Oceane Cassignol (France)
15. Matan Roditi (Israel)
Video
coaching by fellow Spirit Orcas Lisa Newell
The Spirit Orcas with Greg Hind, Maria Sharock, Dixon McGowen, Drew Sabourin, Meliah Motchman, and Lisa Newell completed a 15 km in 12°C water around South Pender Island in British Columbia, Canada on 23 June 2025, coached by Susan Simmons.
External links
- Spirit Orcas Complete Another Unprecedented Relay
- Spirit Orcas Complete An Unprecedented Relay Around North Pender Island
- The Spirit Orcas Prepare for a 30 km Circumnavigation Swim Around Pender Island
- Spirit Orcas Swim With Humpbacks Through The Lama Passage
- Little Touches Go A Long Way In The Open Water
- Supporting The Spirit Orcas
- Sawatsky On Swimming By Meliah Motchman
- Motchman Determined and Persistent to Complete a Marathon Swim
- Final Training Swim for Meliah Motchman
- Meliah's Big Swim
- Swimming Ever Since With The Spirit Orcas
- Spirit Orcas Discuss Tackling Challenges On WOWSA Live
- The Great Big Swim With The Spirit Orcas
- Susan Simmons, Gordon Giesbrecht, Brian Hunt On Cold Water Swimming
- The Great Big Swim Is On Stage 4
- Spirit Orcas Begin Their Long Journey
- Spirit Orcas
- Victoria swimmers train for challenge of a lifetime
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
