A stiff breeze looked like it might blow a pint-sized Melissa Wu away when the Australian diver made her Commonwealth Games debut back in 2006 at just 13.
Fast forward to her fourth Games campaign and Wu says the windy outdoor Gold Coast venue holds no fears for her.
Wu, now 25, will get to show just how far she's come since gingerly stepping out onto the 10m platform in Melbourne 12 years ago when she spearheads Australia's 14-strong diving team on the Gold Coast.
She will launch a rare second home Games campaign when she teams up with rookie Teju Williamson in the 10m synchro on Wednesday night.
Wu has done a lot of growing up since she appeared in Melbourne at 135cm tall and weighing just 28kg.
Now 152cm and 46kg, Wu said the challenging outdoor conditions that have some divers spooked would be an afterthought when she lines up alongside 18-year-old Williamson.
"You don't focus on the conditions, you focus on the job at hand," she said.
"Lightning is a risk but in any other conditions we just have to go for it."
World champion and teammate Maddison Keeney, wasn't so sure.
Asked if the wind would be a factor, world 1m springboard champ Keeney said: "Yeah, especially because this pool is right off the (Southport) water - it gets pretty blustery up there."
Keeney will team up with Anabelle Smith in the 3m springboard synchro on Wednesday.
Wu is also unfazed by linking with Williamson barely a week before competition after the shock retirement of synchro partner Taneka Kovchenko due to a congenital problem that left her at risk of becoming a quadriplegic if she continued to dive.
Dual Olympian James Connor and rookies Matthew Carter and Kurtis Mathews - two of seven team Games debutants - will also feature in the 1m springboard on Wednesday night.
Australia hope to thwart world champion Tom Daley's England and Canada and top the Games diving table for the first time since Melbourne 2006 after finishing third at Glasgow.
Australian Associated Press
