Paris Olympics 2024: Diving queen Melissa Wu reveals the extreme lengths to get to her record fifth Olympics

Australian diver Melissa Wu has been dealing with a range of issues that stemmed from an injury sustained while filming a reality TV show. Now she reveals her tactics to get right for Paris.

In the lead up to an Olympics training schedules increase – but for Melissa Wu it has been all about doing less.

It isn’t due to any hi-tech, groundbreaking load management research but simply because it is the only way she can keep her body functioning.

Paris will be the fifth Olympics for the 32-year-old, who won bronze at Tokyo in the 10m platform.

A horror back injury sustained while filming reality TV show SAS Australia shortly after the Tokyo Games left her in a world of hurt.

It was the first domino - with a seemingly endless number of injuries following.

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Wu is about to compete in her fifth Olympics. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

She was battling bulging discs in her neck and a knee injury at the 2024 World Championships. Wu still managed to make the final and finish 12th – securing the Olympic quota spot - two cortisone injections followed.

“I think everything sort of stemmed from the (SAS injury), I just kept diving on it,” Wu said.

“I really wanted to go to Commonwealth Games and do synchro, so I really pushed through the SAS injury but in doing so I ended up with a few others because I was compensating.

“You start to do things a bit differently then you realise things aren’t quite right and the other injuries pop up.”

Post Commonwealth Games the only way to manage the back pain and persistent knee injury was to dial back the training load.

Wu said she hasn’t had a full training program for the past couple of years.

“The whole knee problem was from dryland, it wasn’t even from doing cool stuff,” Wu said.

“I wonder how many somersaults I’ve done in my whole life – it is probably the repetitive nature of doing it. But my knee wasn’t having it so we can’t do that anymore.”

The veteran has beaten injuries to get back to the top. Photo: Tom Parrish

Leading into the Olympic selection trials Wu was forced to make a last minute change her training plan again when her ongoing knee injury flared up.

“I had a few really bad spurts of injuries and I had to change how I did things and really change my mindset around it,” she said.

“The way I train now is very different to before but if I’m honest it feels better, it is more management in my body.

Wu’s training methods were justified when she finished top of the podium at the Olympic trials – earning her spot on a record fifth Olympic team.

It was a confidence boost she didn’t know she needed.

“I’m always managing niggles, it’s a balancing act – it’s a skill now at this point in my career,” Wu said.

“I’ve been doing it for so long it is all muscle memory now – so as long as everything is physically good the results will take care of itself.”

Wu will compete in the preliminary rond at 6pm Monday (AEST).

Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Diving queen Melissa Wu reveals the extreme lengths to get to her record fifth Olympics