In the vein of Thorpe, Trickett and Klim another Olympic veteran is tumbling back into the fray for the London 2012 Olympics. Dual bronze medallist and three-time Olympic diver Loudy Wiggins (nee Tourky) made her Olympic debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996.

An astonishing 16 years on, the woman who won Australia’s first diving medal since 1924 (with Rebecca Gilmore in the synchronised platform in 2000) and sent Australian diving rolling into medal-winning form is eyeing a bold comeback.

The new mum and veteran Olympic and Commonwealth Games diver says she is doing ten sessions a week and juggling motherhood as she follows her goal.

“I am going quite well” said Wiggins, as she spoke of her return to the pool and her progress in pursuit of a London 2012 berth for her fourth Olympics (following campaigns in 1996, 2000 and 2004).

“I’m not as sharp as I’d like to be at this stage” she said having not competed in a major international competition since the Commonwealth Games in 2006. “I’m just plodding away and improving slowly” she explained.

Wiggins is enjoying training with former Olympian and coach Mathew Helm at the Victorian Institute of Sport in Melbourne.

“We’ve had to sit down and adjust my training as we lead up to Nationals in Adelaide in December” she said of the event that doubles as an Olympic qualifier.

“It is not going to be easy for me” Wiggins said of the race against time.

When commenting on her range of dives, she was quick to point out that her strength in the past has been her consistency, and that is what she is concentrating on now.

“I have always scored consistently in the prelims, semi finals and finals and that is what I am aiming to do now” she said.

“I would like to make the World Cup team shortly. If not I will continue on to hopefully qualify well at the Nationals.”

And when asked about the biggest challenge in her comeback she explained: “Managing the baby and no recovery time, but hopefully it will be all worth it in the long term.”

Wiggins will put her comeback and reputation on the line when she competes at the forthcoming National Diving Championships in Adelaide from 8-11 December 2011. She will compete against seasoned 10 metre veterans Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak. Upcoming 15-year-old star Brittany Broben will be keen to make her mark too, with only two spots available in the 10 metre individual event for the Australians at the Olympics.

AOC with Diving Australia