Then came her second, a back handstand double somersault with one-and-a-half twists. The 29-year-old put on a display of her poise and experience as she, like she had done hundreds of times before, slid through the water for eights from the judging panel. That was enough to leapfrog Delaney Schnell of the United States and put Wu into third place. 

On her third dive, a reverse two-and-a-half tuck, Wu picked up where she left off with eights from the panel. As she did with her third, she did with her fourth an inward three-and-a-half tuck once gain for eights from the judges, maintaining her position in third. 

Heading into her final dive, Wu had a six-and-a-half-point lead over Gabriela Angundez Garcia of Mexico. She would need a solid back two-and-a-half somersault with one-and-a-half twists pike to take home the bronze.  

But Wu did far more than simply solid. 

The panel of seven judges award the Australian eight-and-a-halves for a total five dive score of 371.40.  

In the end the gold and silver went Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi of China, with Wu taking home the ever-elusive Olympic medal in bronze. 

"This has definitely been something that I've been working towards," Wu said. "I knew it was possible coming here, I didn't want to get too hung-up on medals or anything.  

"I just wanted to execute my process the best I could and overall, that is the thing I'm most happy about today, just being able to relax and enjoy it. 

"You never know when you will get this experience again, it might be the last time." 

As to what's next for the 29-year-old, Wu has at least one goal in mind, passing on her knowledge to the next generation. 

"I coach a younger squad of divers, a high-performance squad, which I am really enjoying," Wu said. "So, I'm just going to focus on that for a while I think." 

"Being able to support the younger generation of divers is really important to me. I am really excited to share with them the ups and the downs and teach them as much as I can." 

Courtesy Australian Olympic Committee