What an amazing dive by Matthew Mitcham and Greg Louganis on last night’s Celebrity Splash grand final!
Matthew Mitcham and Melissa Wu Pull Out of World Championships Trials
Making a splash in the media rather than the pool might be Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham’s priority, Diving Australia (DA) admits.
But DA has dismissed fears Mitcham might be lost to the sport after he withdrew from this month’s world titles trials in Brisbane.
And in another blow to the Australian team, Olympic silver medallist Melissa Wu will also be a no-show.
DA high performance manager Graeme Rose admitted Mitcham’s immediate focus had switched to TV work, prompting the Beijing Olympic 10m champion to pull out of the upcoming trials.
Mitcham has not returned to full training since the London Games.
However, Rose said he would be surprised if Mitcham did not contest the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It seems the closest Mitcham will get to the pool this year is as a judge on Channel Seven’s Celebrity Splash after opting not to contest the May 31-June 2 trials.
“I guess he has been looking at his long-term future, opportunities in the media,” Rose told AAP.
“(But) I think Matthew loves diving too much to be lost to the sport.
“Matthew is 25 and, once they get to that age, they recognise they can’t earn a living through the sport that they love.
“They have to look at other prospects once they finish their sport.
“It’s not that unusual people having a year off to explore different avenues - look at (swimmer) Stephanie Rice.”
Asked if he expected Mitcham to contest the Rio Games, Rose said: “I would be surprised if he didn’t.
“That will be pretty tempting for every athlete.
“It’s a bit different from all the other events that we have had.
“I think that is on his list of things he would like to achieve.”
Rose also expected Wu to bounce back to her best despite aggravating an ongoing back complaint.
“It is not responding as well as we would have liked,” he said.
“The world titles are important but we are thinking about the long-term interests of Melissa.
“And she is still only 21. I think she has a few good years ahead of her.”
Silver medallist Brittany Broben and fellow London Olympians Jaele Patrick, Anabelle Smith and James Connor have all nominated for the selection trials.
The world titles will be held in Barcelona from July.
