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Melissa Wu

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This article is about the Australian diver. For the fictional character, see Flight 29 Down § Melissa Wu.

Melissa Wu
OLY
Wu at the 2008 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameMelissa Paige Li Kun Wu[1]
Nickname(s)Woodles, Mel[2]
Born (1992-05-03) 3 May 1992 (age 32)[1]
Sydney, Australia
Height1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)[3]
Weight46 kg (101 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportDiving
Event(s)10 m individual platform, 10 m synchro platform, 10 m mixed synchro platform
ClubPerfect 10 Diving Club[1]
TeamNSWIS
Coached byChava Sobrino[2]
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 10 m synchro platform
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 10 m individual platform
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2007 Melbourne 10 m synchro platform
Silver medal – second place 2011 Shanghai 10 m synchro platform
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Kazan 10 m mixed synchro platform
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 10 m synchro platform
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 10 m individual platform
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 10 m synchro platform
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne 10 m synchro platform
Silver medal – second place 2010 Delhi 10 m individual platform
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2010 Changzhou 10 m synchro platform
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 10 m synchro platform
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Changzhou 10 m individual platform
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Shanghai 10 m individual platform
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio 10 m individual platform

Melissa Paige Li Kun Wu OLY (born 3 May 1992) is an Australian diver who has represented Australia at five Olympic Games, winning a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games and a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. She has also represented Australia at five Commonwealth Games, winning gold medals in 2010, 2018 and 2022 and silver medals in 2006 and 2010. Wu is a NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder.[5]

Diving

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Wu began diving in 2003. The same year she fractured her humerus bone in her left arm after accidentally landing on a trampoline, and had to halt training for six months.[2] After winning a number of junior and state titles in 2004 and 2005, she won the individual 10-metre platform at the Australian Open Diving Championships in 2006. The win earned her a place on the team for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she won a silver medal in the synchronised 10-metre platform with Alexandra Croak and finished fifth in the individual 10-metre platform.[6]

In 2008, along with Briony Cole, Wu won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for the synchronised 10-metre platform, becoming the youngest Australian ever to win an Olympic medal in diving.[2] She also competed in the women's 10-metre platform, making it into the finals, ending up ranked sixth out of twelve competitors.[1]

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Wu won a gold medal in the synchronised 10-metre platform with her partner Alexandra Croak and a silver medal in the individual 10-metre platform.[6]

Wu placed fourth in the 10-metre individual platform at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and fifth in the same event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[1]

Wu competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, winning gold in the individual 10-metre platform and, with Teju Williamson, placing fourth in the synchronised 10-metre platform.[7]

Qualifying for her fourth Olympics, Wu competed in the individual 10-metre platform at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She achieved a bronze medal.[8]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Wu teamed up with Charli Petrov in the synchronised 10-metre platform. Wu and Petrov achieved a gold medal.[9]

In June 2024, she competed at Adelaide in the Australian Open Championships. She won the Women’s 10-Metre Platform becoming the Australian Champion. The runner up was Ellie Cole who was 17 years old.[10] Wu prepared herself for her fifth Olympics, this time in Paris. No other Australian diver has been to five games. There were eight other divers in the team including Ellie Cole. Both Wu and Cole represented Australia in the ten metre platform.[11]

Personal life

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Wu lives in Sydney.[12] Her father is of Chinese descent.[13] She is the cousin of Australian Rugby Union player James Stannard and the second cousin of Australian runner Jana Pittman.[14] Her brother, Joshua, and sister, Madeline, both train in weightlifting.[12]

Wu has a tattoo of the Olympic rings shaped as hearts on her right leg.[2] She also has a tattoo across her left rib featuring the words 'only as much as I dream can I be.'[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Melissa Wu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Melissa Wu". nbcolympics.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Melissa Wu". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Melissa Wu". Rio2016.olympics.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Melissa Wu | Athlete Profile". NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS). Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Melissa Wu | Athlete Profile". NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Melissa Wu". Athlete profile. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  9. ^ Binner, Andrew (7 August 2022). "Commonwealth Games 2022: Melissa Wu and Charli Petrov win women's 10m platform title". Olympics.com. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  10. ^ Australia, Diving. "AUSTRALIAN DIVER MELISSA WU CROWNED AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION". www.diving.org.au. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Melissa Wu named to record fifth Olympics team". ABC News. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Melissa Wu | AUS Team | Rio 2016". 25 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  13. ^ Law, Benjamin (2 July 2021). "Olympic diver Melissa Wu: 'I'm not great with heights'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Bio - WU Melissa | NBC Olympics". 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  15. ^ Sutherl, y (7 July 2021). "A chat with Melissa Wu, Olympic diver and entrepreneur". Blog. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
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