Budapest-bound Wu eyes Gold Coast, Tokyo in spell of top form

Evergreen platform specialist Melissa Wu believes she is approaching the form of her life.

Melissa Wu’s nationals score was higher than her Rio fifth place. Picture: Mark Evans

Evergreen platform specialist Melissa Wu believes she is ­approaching the form of her life as she prepares for the world championships in Budapest in July.

She dominated the national 10m final in Sydney yesterday, ­displaying the kind of form that will put her in medal contention at the world titles, despite her recent ­recovery from stress fractures in her back.

Her winning score of 380.5 points was substantially higher than her Olympic score last year (which left her fifth in Rio), and she won the title by 55 points from fellow Olympian Brittany O’Brien.

Wu, 25, has been competing ­internationally since she was 13 but believes she had never dived better, despite spending an extended period out injured early this year.

“I’m glad to be coming back from injury,’’ she said. “My back got to the point where it was really bad and we scanned it and I had stress fractures on one side and a stress reaction on the other so I had to rest it so it didn’t crack all the way through.

“I missed the early World ­Series events this year and then went to the second World Series and my back was feeling better so I decided to enter the last individual event and that went pretty well.’’

In fact, Wu split the Olympic medallists to win the silver medal on the platform in Canada.

Olympic silver medallist Si Yajie won with 390.60 points, from Wu (384.00). Olympic champion Ren Qian came third.

“I feel like I’m in a really good place now,’’ Wu said yesterday.

“I’ve been able to regain a lot of strength, which is what I needed. I’m close to my peak now.

“I just need to perfect those dives now leading into the worlds and get some good training prep behind me.’’

Wu said she hoped to get close to 400 points at the world titles, which would put her squarely in the frame for medals.

After making her international debut at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Wu seems certain to become one of the few athletes to compete at two home Games, the second of which will be next year’s Gold Coast event, and she also hopes to go to a fourth Olympics in Tokyo.

“While I’m still improving I’m happy to keep going for as long as my body allows me to do it,’’ she said. “I’m committed to Commonwealth Games and I’d really love to go to Tokyo. I think that will be an amazing Olympics.

“For me, Melbourne is where it all started so to be able to do a ­second home Commonwealth Games would be amazing and that would most likely be my last, so to start and finish on a home Games would be the best experience ever.’’

At the other end of the career spectrum, 16-year-old Adelaide schoolboy Matthew Carter upset two Olympians to win his first ­senior national title in the 3m springboard yesterday.

A world junior medallist last year, Carter set a 30-point personal best of 470.50 points to make his case for a place on the world championships team.

All three rounds of the comp­etition count for selection and a different diver dominated at each stage. Olympians James Connor and Kevin Chavez will vie for the two individual places with Carter.

The promising teenager also combined with Chavez to win the 3m synchro title so he seems ­certain to be selected for at least one event when the national team is named tonight.