Rio Olympics: How tragedy inspired Melissa Wu’s resurgence in diving
SIMPLY competing at a third Olympic Games has given Melissa Wu something she’s been searching for but until now could never find.
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SIMPLY competing at a third Olympic Games has given Melissa Wu something she’s been searching for but until now could never find.
Having quit the sport two years ago following the sudden death of her sister Kirsten, Wu returned to diving and has come to Rio with the confidence and form to threaten for a medal in the 10m platform.
But it is the memory of Kirsten and the journey Wu has conquered just to be here that has given the 24-year-old a true sense of pride that she revealed had been lacking for some time.
“It means a lot to me, I appreciate these Olympics a lot more as well because I’ve been through a lot the last few years,” Wu said.
“To be able to overcome that and see what I’m made of is a huge achievement and I’m finally proud of myself.
“It’s taken me a while but that’s part of the journey as you get older and more experience and you learn to take the good things with the bad.”
Wu admitted her sister was firmly in her thoughts here in Rio and would be tomorrow when she contests the semi-finals of the platform after qualifying in fourth (342.80 points) position today.
“Yeah definitely, it’s really hard to achieve something so big and not be able to share it with someone who is so close to you,” Wu said.
“I know she is always with me and I have her now in a way I didn’t before. And yeah I think I get to share this in a different way with her.”
A silver medallist in the 10m synchro event at the Beijing Games in 2008, Wu would dearly love to medal here in Rio after placing fourth in the individual event in London four years ago.
It will take some effort tomorrow, with semi-finals only a few hours before the final. It means she needs to nail 10 consistent dives tomorrow to achieve her lifelong dream.
With the words ‘only as much as I dream can I be’ inked across her back, Wu knows tomorrow’s final will be won in the mind.
“Being a long competition with lots of competitors it’s a real mental game out there,” she said.
“I just want to try and go out and hit all five of my dives to the best of my ability. Wherever I place I will be happy with that.”
Wu will be joined in the semi-finals by rookie Brittany O’Brien, who was only added to the team this month after silver medallist Brittany Broben withdrew with a shoulder injury.
O’Brien overcome a third dive shocker to progress in 17th position with 290.30 points for the semis as China’s star duo Yajie Si (397.45) and Qian Ren (385.80) led the way.
O’Brien was a bundle of nerves before the competition, but nothing could match her anxiety at the end as she slumped to her knees poolside during the final dives to see if she made the top 18.
“I was very relieved after my third dive which was a bit of shocker,” O’Brien said.
“I thought I didn’t make it then I found out I did it was just really exciting.”
Originally published as Rio Olympics: How tragedy inspired Melissa Wu’s resurgence in diving
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