At the age of 14 or 15, she was selected for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam after only a year of competing at the national level.

However, the Australian authorities decided against sending any female swimmers to the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada.

By the time the 1932 Summer Olympics arrived, the 18-year-old American swimmer Eleanor Holm had already cut 2 seconds off her world record, and Holm easily defeated Mealing by 2 seconds to claim the gold.

[1] In 1933, Mealing set a world record in the 200-metre backstroke, but then retired from swimming, foregoing an opportunity to win gold at the 1934 British Empire Games in London.

Phyllis Harding of England, whom Mealing defeated in Los Angeles, claimed the gold.