Australia’s Georgia Sheehan has upstaged her more fancied Chinese rivals to win gold in the women’s springboard at the 2016 FINA Gold Coast Diving Grand Prix.

Sheehan, who took a break from her Year 12 exams to compete, held her nerve while more fancied rivals struggled in windy conditions at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.

And there was further good news for Australia, with Declan Stacey winning bronze in his first ever competition for Australia in the men’s platform.

Stacey, a former elite level Australian gymnast, finished behind two world-class Chinese divers to grab third.

Brisbane’s Sheehan burst on to the scene as Australia’s youngest athlete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she finished a close fourth in the women’s 1-metre springboard.

She said she was oblivious to the problems her Chinese competitors were having with some of their dives.

“I think coming into the competition today I was feeling quite good,” Sheehan said.

“Normally I just plug into my headphones and zone out, so I don’t focus on what other divers are doing.”

Sheehan finished on 319.70, well ahead of China’s Han Wang on 276.65, with Canada’s Mia Vallee third with 262.75.

The Gold Coast Aquatic Centre will be the venue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and Sheehan said getting experience in the outdoor conditions is invaluable.

“I think the fact I’ve had the opportunity to dive at such a fantastic pool so early gives me a bit of a head start, so hopefully I’ll be back in 2018,” Sheehan said.

“Australia has got a really strong field of divers in the 3-metres, so I just need to work on myself and get more comfortable with my list and hopefully perfect them before the 2018 trials.”

23-year-old Stacey was a late call up to the Gold Coast Grand Prix, after impressing his coaches at training.

While Chinese world record holder, Jian Yang, was the stand out competitor in the platform final, finishing with 558.70 points, the battle between China’s Hao Yang and Stacey for the silver was much tighter.

In the finish Yang came out on top, 423.90 to Stacey’s 413.25, but the Australian could not be happier with his debut for his country.

“It was a bit of a mental challenge, but I’ve worked really hard for the past 11 months,” Stacey said.

“I made the change because I was a bit disheartened because Australia is not as competitive in gymnastics as it is in diving.

“It’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Stacey said he felt comfortable in the windy conditions after a tough practice during the week.

“I’m going to put that down to Tuesday night, it was a tough session,” he said.

“The sun was down, it was cold and the wind was blowing, it was probably the hardest conditions I’ve ever been in.

“I bombed every dive that night, but I think it helped me deal with the conditions today.”

Earlier in the day Sheehan was on the podium again, winning a silver with Jayah Matthews in the women’s springboard synchro.

The top three medal placings was a repeat of the result seven days earlier in Malaysia, with China, Australia and Canada filling the podium.

Sheehan and Mathews (283.80) finished less than 15 points behind the Chinese pair of Han Wang and Zhihuan Xu (298.20),  with Canada’s Caeli McKay and Mia Vallee finishing third.

The men’s platform synchro final was reduced to just one team, China’s Hao Yang and Zewei Xu winning the easiest gold medal of their career with a total of 393.24.

Several of the international divers will head to Singapore next weekend for the final Grand Prix of the year. Australia will be represented by Nikita Hains and Tamara Irvine.