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Devastating family tragedies behind Melissa Wu's Olympic history

Pictured here, Melissa Wu won diving bronze for Australia in the women's 10m platform.
Melissa Wu won diving bronze for Australia in the women's 10m platform. Pic: Getty

Aussie diver Melissa Wu has shed light on the heartbreaking journey that culminated in her finally realising a dream, by claiming her first individual Olympic Games medal in Tokyo.

Wu claimed bronze in the women's 10m platform on Thursday, with 14-year-old Chinese sensation Quan Hongchan taking gold in an Olympic record-breaking performance.

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The 29-year-old Aussie burst onto the scene after winning silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as a 13-year-old.

She backed that up with a silver medal in the women’s synchronised 10m platform at the Beijing Games in 2008 but until now, that first individual diving medal at the Olympics had proven elusive.

Not so anymore.

Wu's journey to get to this point has been one filled with heartbreak, with the tragic death of her sister and thoughts about quitting the sport among the many challenges she's had to overcome.

The Aussie also recently lost her grandmother and was reduced to tears speaking about how much it would have meant if she'd been alive to witness Wu's historic bronze medal.

"She was very close to me and I think this medal is very important to me because she didn't get to see me win it," Wu said.

"That would have been very important to her."

Wu also detailed how she contemplated quitting the sport at multiple junctures, because of injuries and the shock death of her younger sister Kirsten in 2014.

"That was really, really tough for my family," she said of Kirsten's suicide.

"It's something that is continually very challenging for me and my family.

"Diving kind of, I guess, saved me a bit. It gave me something to refocus on and keep going after that ... diving has always been the thing that has kept me grounded.

"You don't get over it ... time just passes and you just get used to living with it."

Melissa Wu contemplated quitting

Wu had previously admitted she may not have qualified for the Games if they went ahead in 2020 as scheduled, having suffered shoulder and rib injuries.

Those setbacks came after knee, wrist, neck and back issues previously threatened to usher her into retirement - a topic the Sydneysider is yet to make a call on despite admitting that Tokyo was "probably my last Olympics".

Seen here, Melissa Wu (pictured left) finally finished in a medal position at the Olympics in the 10m platform.
Melissa Wu (pictured left) finally finished in a medal position at the Olympics after picking up bronze in the 10m platform in Tokyo. (Getty Image)

"I did question whether or not it was worth it to keep going, a few times in my career," Wu said.

"I've doubted myself a little bit.

"I'm so glad that all my hard work has paid off.

"I'm lucky I've had such a long career."

Wu's second of five dives in the final, an armstand back double somersault with one and a half twists, was awarded a score of 76.8 that lifted her into third spot on the leaderboard.

Wu remained in that position then sealed bronze with her best score in Tokyo, 81.6 for a back two-and-a-half somersaults with one and a half twists in the pike position.

Wu finished with 371.4 points, trailing only China's Quan (466.2) and Chen Yuxi (425.4).

Quan, competing at her first international event and the only member of China's all-conquering diving contingent yet to be crowned world champion, earned perfect 10s from all seven judges for her second and fourth dives.

All but one judge gave Quan a perfect 10 for her last dive.

"I don't think I'm a prodigy. I'm not very bright, I don't do well in my studies," Quan said.

"You ask me all these questions and there's only a blank in my mind."

China have claimed gold in all of the women's diving events since the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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