Melanie Roland left the Northwest Missouri State track program having done about as much as can. Having conquered the track in the United States, the national champion set her sights on competing in a different part of the world.

“I’ve had the goal of making the Swiss team for two years now,” Roland said. “With having run a 52.15, I knew I could make it.”

A dual-citizen, Roland’s path to the Switzerland Track and Field Championships started after having a busy final season as a Bearcat. Her concern for the Swiss Meet was that the fatigue would hamper her.

To make things tougher, Roland was on her own leading up to the event.

“It was hard because I didn’t have my team and that’s important to me,” Roland said. “I didn’t have anyone to run with when I was practicing. All I had was my coach’s programs from Maryville and France. My coach in France is far from where I’m living, so obviously none of them could follow me in real time. But I kept pushing, trusted their workouts, and let them know how it was going for me.”

The two programs benefited Roland in different ways, using Masters’ program for running, and her French program in the weight room. Roland had just around a month after her national championship win to prepare for Switzerland.

In her meet on June 19 in the 40eme Meeting International Montgeron-Essone in France, Roland finished sixth with a time of 53.36 seconds.

“Every meet I ran in Europe was important,” Roland said. “It wasn’t only about performing — but feeling the environment in Europe again with people that I’ve already ran with, and girls like me who wanted to make their own national teams. Some of them were just a test, while others were important to know what I needed to work on and practice before the big meet.”

Roland had a couple weeks before her next meet in the Fribourg International Meeting in France. It was another sixth-place finish, but an improved time with a run of 53.24 seconds.

On July 5, Roland improved her time once again in the Meeting International Bouvet-Bionda. Her time of 53.16 was good enough for a first-place finish and pressure heading into the Switzerland championships.

“I was excited and very nervous to run there,” Roland said. “People knew I could get first place, and that was more pressure than I thought it would be.”

The preliminaries saw the former Bearcat take second with a time of 52.89 seconds. Roland said seeing her prelim time eased the pressure ahead of the final race.

“The prelim wasn’t the best because of the pressure, but when I saw the sub-5.3, I knew I could run better in the final,” Roland said.

And that she did, winning the 400-meter race by almost in dominant fashion. Roland finished with a time of 52.56, while second place finished with a time of 53.31 seconds.

Roland said making the national team was a dream, but winning came from a reality in which it took hard work and support.

“When I won, I was just grateful for everything: my journey, the people I had around me, and it was just a big accomplishment after a year of working hard,” Roland said. “Making the national team is the dream for a lot of athletes who are competing hard. That’s a big accomplishment from all the hard work we put into our workouts every day.”

Rest comes later as the champion prepares for one more meet in the 2026 season. Roland will race in the 4×400 meter relay at the European Championships next week.

The meet will take place in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on August 10-16. After that, Roland said she will take some time off to prepare for what’s next.

“My next goal is to run a sub-5.2 and run it at the European Championships,” Roland said. “I want to help my team make it to the final in the 4×400. After the European Championships, I’m going to rest and think about what I want to do next. I definitely want to go to the World Championships, but for that I’ll need a plan — and I’m going to work on it.”