Melissa Wu

Fast Facts

Sport: Diving
Event: Women's 10m platform
Olympic History: Beijing 2008 (silver), London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 (bronze)
Highlights: Silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics & bronze medal at Tokyo 2020
Coach: Chava Sobrino
Year Born: 1992
State Born: NSW

About Mel

Melissa Wu started her career in diving in 2003, when she was 10. After winning a range of junior and state titles throughout 2004 and 2005, Wu was given the opportunity to compete at the 2006 Australian Open Championships. Here, she won the women’s 10m platform event, earning herself a spot on the Australian Commonwealth Games team. 

At just 13-years-old, Melissa Wu burst onto the international diving scene when she walked away with a Commonwealth Games silver medal in the 10m synchronised diving alongside Alexandra Croak. In the individual 10m platform she finished in fifth place. 

Two years later, Wu was off to her debut Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The then 16-year-old competed alongside Briony Cole in the 10m synchronised diving, where they finished in second place, making Wu the youngest Australian to ever win an Olympic medal in diving. This was also Australia’s best ever result in synchronised diving. 

The Sydney local continued to progress in the sport and in 2010 competed in her second Commonwealth Games. Once again partnered with Alexandra Croak, the duo claimed the gold medal in the women’s 10m synchro. Wu also claimed silver in the women’s individual 10m platform. 

At her second Olympic Games in London 2012 she progressed to the Olympic final in the 10m platform event, where she fell agonisingly short of the podium and finished in fourth. 

As a member of the NSW Institute of Sport, training under head coach Chava Sobrino, Mel went on to compete at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games where she finished in fifth. She continued her medal success winning bronze at the 2014 and 2016 World Cups in Shanghai and Rio, amongst many others. 

The seasoned athlete made her third Olympic Team in Rio 2016, where she was also named Australian Diving Captain. She placed fifth in the 10m platform (368.30 points) in a hotly contested final which was dominated by the Chinese. 

In 2018, Wu achieved a career best individual performance when she won gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in the women’s 10m platform. 

With a staggering 61 medals since her international debut, Wu has certainly made a name for herself as one of the most successful divers in Australian history. 

After winning the 2021 Australian Open Championships, the current national champion set her sights on her fourth Olympic Games. 

13 years after she won an Olympic silver medal on debut at the Beijing Olympics, Wu returned to the Olympic podium in Tokyo after a textbook performance in the Final of the Women’s 10m Platform earned a bronze medal. 

Wu's opening dive in the Final – forward three-and-a-half pike – put her in fourth position with five dives to go. She moved into third position, where she remained for the rest of the competition, after performing a well-executed back handstand double somersault with one-and-a-half twists on her second dive.

Heading into the final dive, Wu had a six-and-a-half-point lead over Mexico's Gabriela Angundez Garcia.  In winning bronze, the four-time Olympian showed experience and composure by scoring 81.60 on her final dive, a back two-and-a-half somersault with one-and-a-half twists pike.

Outside of the pool, Wu regularly trains in weightlifting under the tutelage of her brother, and has competed in a few weightlifting competitions, including two state level events. While weightlifting seems a far departure from diving, she credits the extra training in aiding in injury prevention and power development.