Australian Olympian Melissa Wu retires from diving after decorated career

Australian diving legend Melissa Wu has retired from the sport nearly two decades after first breaking out as a teenage star.

The 32-year-old’s glittering career kicked off with Commonwealth Games silver when she was just 13.

Olympic silver followed two years later on debut at Beijing 2008 — and medals on the world stage created a glittering legacy that was extended once more when she claimed bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Wu’s appearance at the Paris Olympics last year became a personal triumph.

She overcame serious back, neck and knee injuries to reach her fifth straight Games, the most by an Australian diver, and maintain her record of making the final at all five of her Olympics.

Wu knew then her career was coming to its end but being out of the pool recently had ensured there were few mixed emotions.

“Today’s definitely a very, very happy day. I’m very lucky that I’ve had a really long and successful career,” Wu said on Wednesday.

“Definitely sad to not be seeing everybody every day but I’m very happy with what I’ve done and hopefully I’ve left an impact on the next generation as well.”

Wu said she has “no regrets” but admitted her body might disagree.

“It was a really long journey from being a young athlete. I really feel like I left no stone unturned,” she said.

The Tokyo bronze will go down as one of her favourite memories after working with her entire team to earn the medal.

“That moment standing on the podium wasn’t just for me — it was for all the people who had helped me get there,” Wu said.

“The older I got the more injured I got so I think it was the beginning of starting a lot of good relationships with a lot of support members and really relying on them.”