LONDON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- They say that diving is a young persons' sport because of the tough training routine and the enormous physical demands it places on the body, but Australian Loudy Wiggins is looking to prove that she is the exception to the rule.
Wiggins, who competes in the 10 meters synchronized platform, was born on July 7, 1979 and is now 33 years old, that alone makes her special in one respect.
"I'm the oldest diver in London," she explained to Xinhua following a training session in the Aquatics Center.
Wiggins has an impressive array of achievements from her long career, among them bronze medals in the synchronized diving from the Sydney and Athens Olympics. as well as a gold medal from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
She didn't compete in Beijing after injuring a calf muscle in the Australian Olympic trials and aged 28 that could have been the end of her career.
"I took three years off after missing the Beijing Olympics. I got married and had a baby," she explained.
But there was something which made her return to the pool: "I'm back because I love the Olympics," she said.
And having worked her way back to fitness and form Loudy has not come to London just for the ride.
"I'm in good shape," she confirmed, adding that she was aiming to add to her medal haul.
"It's going to be my last Olympics and I will do my best to compete for medal, even for gold against the Chinese. The Chinese are the biggest rivals for us. Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao are very strong, but I am older than they are and my advantage is that I am a lot more experienced and have a relaxed mindset," said Wiggins. That mindset, her determination and experience will make her a tough rival to beat.