Melinda Gainsford-Taylor AM (born 1 October 1971 in Narromine, New South Wales) is a retired Australian athlete, who specialised in sprint events.

During 1994, Gainsford-Taylor won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games behind her arch-rival Cathy Freeman and set an Australian record for 100 m of 11.12.

In 1997, defending her World Indoor crown, Gainsford was disqualified for running out of her lane in the semi-final of the 200 m. Later in the year, she made up for that disappointment with a new Australian record of 22.23 seconds.

At her third Olympic Games at Sydney 2000 she made the final of the 200 m sprint, placing 6th, and assisted the Australian 4 x 400 m relay team to a fifth-place finish and a new national record.

Other members include comedian, author and radio personality Wendy Harmer, World Surfing Champion Layne Beachley, newsreader Tracey Spicer, and swimmer Brooke Hanson.