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Diving for Australia at just 13, Melissa Wu won the support of an entire nation. Eight years on she returns to the Commonwealth Games eyeing some new additions to her medal collection.
Who am I?
Born in Sydney, Melissa Wu started diving at the age of 10 and just three years later was literally making a splash on the international stage.
After first taking up the sport in 2003, Wu won a number of junior and state titles before appearing at the Australian Open Diving Championships in 2006, wining the 10m platform event ahead of far more seasoned competitors, and earning herself a place at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Standing at 135cm tall and weighing in at – this is not a typo – just 28kg, the 13-year-old Wu won Silver in the 10m Platform event that year, sparking international attention. John Williamson was inspired to write a song about her unique performance, titled Little Swallow, Baby Wu.
Now 22 and with more experience under her belt, Wu is ready for her third Commonwealth Games appearance at Glasgow 2014.
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After her impressive performance at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, Wu was selected in the team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the 10m Synchronised Platform event alongside Briony Cole, a diver nine years her senior. She became the youngest Australian ever to win an Olympic medal in diving.
She made her second Commonwealth Games appearance at the Delhi 2010 games, winning gold in the 10m Synchronised Platform event alongside current partner Alexandra Croak, and winning silver in the individual event.
Wu also appeared at the London 2012 Olympics but wasn’t able to win a medal. Glasgow 2014 is the next big event on her calendar, and at her young age she looks set for many more to come.
Outside the hype
It can’t be easy becoming a national celebrity at thirteen years of age, but Wu has handled it well. She began home-schooling in order to accommodate her intense training schedule and, now finished with that, is studying a Bachelor of Media and Communications.
You would think all this would keep her too busy to do anything else but she also happens to play the piano and the drums, and writes stories and music in her spare time.
She could easily have given it up at a young age. At just 11 she broke her arm during trampoline training, suffering permanent nerve damage in two fingers. She has soldiered on – no wonder she describes herself as “small, tough, and committed!”
Wu has a tattoo that reads “Only as much as I dream can I be.” With all she has accomplished she clearly has no problems in that regard, and there’ll be more to come at Glasgow 2014.
Fast facts
Name: Melissa Wu
Birthdate: 3 May, 1992
Event: Diving – 10m platform individual & synchronised
Career Achievements:
Silver, 10m Synchronised Platform, 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games
Silver, 10m Synchronised Platform, 2008 Beijing Olympics
Gold, 10m Synchronised Platform, 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games
Silver, 10m Individual Platform, 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games
Twitter Followers: 18,416
Instagram Followers: 3059
Favourite Food: Chocolate
Ideal Holiday: Thailand
Dream Car: Lamborghini
This article was first published on the Tenplay website.