Diving Australia has begun planning for the 2012 Olympics by recruiting former US national coach Kongsheng Li.

Li has been contracted to run the national diving centre in Melbourne with a focus on developing a team of divers for the London Games.

With Australia's Athens team -- which finished second to China with one gold, one silver and four bronze medals -- all set to retire, DA high performance manager Brendan Purcell says Australia must look to the future.

Head coach Hui Tong will continue to work with the national squad in Brisbane, but he has sought former Chinese teammate Li to develop the youth beyond 2008.

"To take athletes from where they are now to be a contender or competitive at Beijing, they need to be world-class already,'' Purcell said.

"We have set (Li) the target to produce beyond 2008. If he gets someone ready to go by 2008, then that's a great bonus.''

Diving Australia