Melanie had her first taste of success as a member of the Australian 4×100-metre freestyle relay team that won gold at the 2007 World Championships.

Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she swam the third leg in both the heats and the final of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay as Australia claimed the bronze medal.

She swam in the heats of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay and collected a gold when the first-choice quartet won the final in a world record time.

Following the 2015 World Championships, now swimming as Melanie Wright, she suffered a recurrence of a rib stress fracture that plagued the later part of her career.

Melanie is a brand ambassador for Speedo, Bodyscience, Brisbane Lions, Qld Games Foundation and the Deniliquin Ute Muster.