the western weekender » Friday, August 13, 2021
SPORT PENRITH’S #1 COVERAGE OF THE NRL Extra Time. See centre pull-out.
Josh Green with his Bronze medal.
Penrith-born Melissa Wu won her first individual Olympic medal last week.
Penrith’s double Bronze NATHAN TAYLOR
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enrith’s Olympic representatives have ended their Tokyo campaign in style, with diver Melissa Wu and basketballer Josh Green securing themselves a Bronze medal each last week. For Penrith-born diver Wu, it was her first individual Olympic medal but second overall after winning Silver as a 16-yearold in Beijing in the 10m Synchro. Wu’s Bronze in the Women’s 10m Platform event last week came in the final days of the Games where Australia took home an incredible 17 Gold, seven Silver and 22 Bronze medals – their best result ever.
Speaking to Channel Seven following her Bronze Medal win, the 29-year-old said it had been a long and challenging journey but one that has well and truly paid off. “I’m feeling pretty excited about it, it has been a long road,” Wu said. “I’ve been diving for a very long time now and I’ve had Synchro success in the past, but the last five years I’ve really focused on my individual event and to come away with Bronze here is just amazing.” Tokyo was the western Sydney resident’s fourth Olympics after finishing just outside the medals in Rio, London and Beijing for 10m Platform. Wu said she never gave up her dream of standing on the podium once again.
“I think I’m very goal driven and very focused and I’ve always had that dream to win another Olympic medal,” she said. “I won a medal at my first Games when I was 16 in Synchro and I always wanted to do that individually, and I think I’ve gone from strength to strength over the years and worked really hard on my mindset. “I knew coming here that I could do it and I think just that dream kept pushing me for all these years.” Like Wu in her first Games in 2008, Penrith Basketball junior Josh Green collected a medal in his debut Olympics as well. The 20-year-old was a member of the gutsy Australian Boomers side that created
history last Saturday night defeating Slovenia, 107-93, to win Australian men’s basketball’s first ever Olympic Medal. Captain Patty Mills produced a performance for the ages, sinking a game-high 42 points as he led his team and country to an emotional Bronze medal in Tokyo. While Green didn’t feature in the final match, the young Dallas Mavericks star did play in each of Australia’s other five games averaging just over three minutes per game off the bench. Interestingly, the Boomers had two other former Penrith Basketball representatives on deck as well in assistant coaches Matt Nielsen and John Rillie. Green has now returned to the US.
Prue Car MP MEMBER FOR LONDONDERRY
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Congratulations to all our Olympic heroes! Our courageous athletes have given us so much hope, just when we need it most. We are incredibly proud of their stellar achievements. 61
