Australian diver Melissa Wu hoping it can be third time lucky for an Olympic medal in Rio

AUSTRALIAN diver Melissa Wu is confident she is ready to claim an individual Olympic medal as she prepares for her third Games after an incredible 10 years on the national team.

Melissa Wu narrowly missed out on a medal at the Lodnon Games

AUSTRALIAN diver Melissa Wu is confident she is ready to claim an individual Olympic medal as she prepares for her third Games after an incredible 10 years on the national team.

It’s is remarkable to think the 24-year-old Wu is the same tiny 10m platform diver Australia first met at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

But here she is today, captain of the Australian diving team and ready to lead the attack on Rio where she has already experienced success winning a bronze medal at the World Cup test event last February.

Melissa Wu has struggled with back injuries since her last Olympics

After placing sixth in her Olympic debut in Beijing and just missing the medals with fourth at the London Olympics four years ago, Wu is determined to get on to the podium this time around.

An ongoing back injury and wrist problems have hampered her training in recent years and prompted her to decrease the difficulty of her five dives.

But the result is Wu is now diving with the consistency of a world-class medal contender and is full of confidence ahead of Rio.

I haven’t put too much pressure on myself in terms of medals or anything. I just want to go and dive really well and be happy with my performance.

Melissa Wu

“I made a decision to decrease it a little bit but by doing that I’ve actually improved my consistency,” Wu said.

“Because I haven’t had the same sort of back troubles I’ve been able to get more solid training in and now I don’t really have a weak dive. I’ve got five strong dives, which is good.

“I haven’t put too much pressure on myself in terms of medals or anything. I just want to go and dive really well and be happy with my performance. If I can do that I will be happy and hopefully that will mean I’m up there with a chance for a medal.”

Melissa Wu in action with the Australia team

Wu will enter the Olympics at No. 4 on the official FINA world rankings, though the presence of Australia’s reigning Olympic silver medallist Brittany Broben gives the green and gold team a two-pronged attack in Rio.

Broben has not dived internationally since the 2013 world championships. At her best, she is among the top two or three in the world.

The women’s platform begins on day 12 (August 17) of the Olympics, by which stage Australia may have already claimed medals in the diving pool.

The Australian team might have struggled at last year’s world titles, but springboard duo Maddison Keeney and Esther Qin have the potential to figure in the medals if they can produce their best dives on the biggest stage.

Wu said this Australian team was in a strong position to produce good performances in Rio.

“It’s a really good team and I really love it,” she said. “In the last few years we’ve really tried to promote a sense of team spirit and support each other when we’re competing. I think that’s been a big improvement.

“We were a bit better in London, but certainly compared to my first Olympics in Beijing we’ve come a long way.”

Originally published as Australian diver Melissa Wu hoping it can be third time lucky for an Olympic medal in Rio