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Podcast: Champion diver Melissa Wu on adversity, depression and the mindset for success

Olympian Melissa Wu has been dominating the international diving stage since the tender age of 13. But with the success she's had to deal with bullying, depression and tragedy along the way.

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Champion diver Melissa Wu on adversity, depression and the mindset for succes‪s‬

Sports fans might remember this iconic moment. It was the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and 13 year old Melissa Wu , barely weighing 30 kilos, was standing on top of the 10 metre diving board about to represent her country.

She would claim the silver medal and go on to win a medal in every international diving competition by the age of 16, an incredible achievement.

But her success wasn’t welcomed by everyone, including some of her teammates. Melissa has spoken out about bullying and struggling with the lack of mentoring and support through her career.

Melissa even had trouble recognising her own success. Despite winning a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, she came home and was diagnosed with depression. Melissa says she wasn’t coping with expectation and pressure, and lost all self-confidence.

But after working with a psychologist, Melissa changed her mindset and was able to return to the pool a stronger athlete and person.

She was put to the test yet again, this time in the most tragic of circumstances, when Melissa’s sister, Kirsten, passed away suddenly in 2014. It would change Melissa’s perspective on everything, not just sport.

Melissa reveals some incredible insights on resilience, mindset and maintaining sustained, long-term success in the midst of enormous adversity. She also talks about the cost of success, and shares lessons learned on mentoring that she is now passing on to the next generation, and much more.

Listen to the interview and subscribe to Off-Field on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast player.

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Off-Field focuses on the world of sport outside of the arena with the people who make it happen. Hosted by James Begley and Andrew Montesi.

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