Olympic champion, Matthew Mitcham unable to compete at the World Diving Championships – Diving news
Diving Australia has suffered a setback as Olympic champion, Matthew Mitcham, will not be able to take part at the upcoming Diving World Championships, starting from July 16-31, in Shanghai, China.
Mitcham has been suffering from abdominal injury, which he developed at the FINA Diving Grand Prix, in Montreal, Canada, during the early stages of this year.
While speaking about the injury, Mitcham said, “After Montreal, the recovery period for the injury was 10 weeks, and I only had eight weeks to work with, so everything had to be condensed.”
He was scheduled to compete in the Men’s 10m platform at the Diving World Championships, this month. Mitcham added, “I was prepared to compete in Shanghai with limited preparation, however the medical advice I received outlined I was five to seven times
more likely to suffer another injury that would have sidelined me for three months.”
He further asserted that he will be keeping his eyes on the next year Olympic Games in London.
In the meantime, NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Diving Program head coach, Chava Sobrino, stated that every injury needs a bit of time to be recovered from. The coach added that the greatest aspect for their diver, Matthew Mitcham, is to efficiently recover
from his chronic abdominal injury and prepare well for the London Olympic events, in 2012.
Matthew secured the gold medal in the Men’s 10m platform at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He grabbed the bronze title in the 1m springboard at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. More importantly, Mitcham nabbed four silver titles in the Men’s 1m
springboard, synchronised 3m springboard, 10m platform and synchronised 10m platform events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
In place of Mitcham, his team-mates, including Alexandra Croak and Melissa will take part in the 2011 FINA world diving championships. It is expected that both divers will compete in the 10m synchronised platform. Meanwhile, Croak will also take part in
the 10m individual platform in Shanghai.
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