Olympic diver Melissa Wu says 'secret weapon' to success is her Chinese heritage

After participating in five Olympic Games, Australian diving star Wu Li Qun is about to end her athletic career. While gradually reducing the intensity of her training, she is also working harder than ever to prepare for the next stage of her life, actively expanding her business ventures.

Despite her brother and sister mocking her weightlifting skills, Wu Li Qun has been working hard over the past few years to build a strength and conditioning gym, while also creating Australia's largest weightlifting club. This reflects her business acumen and passion for sports beyond her athletic career.

Wu Li Qun said, "We work together, but we also have our own focuses. I'm in charge of strength and conditioning and mentoring young athletes, while my siblings are more involved in weightlifting instruction." She added that this division of labor allows everyone to leverage their strengths and jointly promote the development of the club.

Wu Li Qun said, "Balancing the end of my diving career with running a business and helping the next generation is very interesting." She believes that the strong support and cohesion of her family enables her to better balance her diving career and her thriving business.

Wu Li Qun's athletic career started early, and she attributes her efforts to the influence of traditional Chinese cultural values. She grew up in a multilingual family, surrounded by Burmese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Her father is of Chinese descent, and her mother is of British and Irish descent. This multicultural background shaped her colorful upbringing, and the love and respect between family members connect them closely.

Wu Li Qun recalled, "Even though not everyone could fully understand what the other was saying, the fact that everyone could come together was a beautiful thing in itself." She often spent time at her grandparents' house as a child, and her love for diving sprouted there.

"I used to climb to the top of the shed in their backyard - it was probably about 3 meters high - and my grandma would yell at me to climb down. I would cheekily tell her I didn't know how to get down, so I could only jump. It scared her half to death every time."

"I did a lot of swimming because my sister was a very good swimmer, so we were often at the pool. But I used to cry before training. I actually hated swimming." When she told her parents she wanted to try diving, they were initially hesitant. "But almost as soon as I started diving, they could see that I liked it and wanted to develop it further."

When Wu Li Qun's love for high diving turned into a profession, she eventually received guidance from coach Chen Xiangning under the diving program at the Australian Institute of Sport. "Xiangning had a huge impact on me as a young athlete. We worked really well together because he knew how to challenge me and push me to my limits."

"One of the reasons we worked so well together was that I understood his expectations of me - to be hardworking, motivated, and resilient." These values were the same values that her grandparents and parents instilled in her culturally. Although sports are not a common career path for Chinese families, Wu Li Qun's grandparents gave her great support. "They valued work ethic very highly, so as long as we were working hard and doing something meaningful, they were happy."

Wu Li Qun faced arduous training, but she was inspired by the experiences of other top Chinese divers who entered training camps from a young age, seeking opportunities. "For these athletes, becoming an Olympic diver is not just a childhood dream or hobby, but an opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their families."

"Hearing that, I immediately connected it to my grandparents' experience of immigrating to Australia in search of better opportunities... On tough training days, I thought about the hardships my grandparents went through when they came to Australia and their dedication to creating a better life for their family." This commitment and understanding ultimately paid off. In 2008, Wu Li Qun won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, and her grandparents were there to watch the competition. She said it was a moment she will always cherish.