IT WAS a defining moment of the Beijing Olympics.

Matthew Mitcham performed the single greatest dive in Olympic history to overtake his Chinese rivals and become the first Australian man since 1924 to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.

But Mitcham's memories of his first Commonwealth Games in Melbourne four years ago are not as fond.

Australian divers won five golds in Melbourne, but remarkably Mitcham failed to medal in any of his four events.

Months later a burnt-out Mitcham retired before regaining his hunger for the sport.

Fast forward four years and Mitcham, 22, wants to make amends in Delhi.

Buoyed by his 10m platform World Cup triumph in June, Mitcham feels ready to ``complete my gold medal collection''.

"I've got the Olympic one, the World Cup one -- the only major one that's missing is the Commonwealth Games gold,'' Mitcham said.

"I'm doing four events in New Delhi, so I'm hoping I'll get at least one gold.''

He will contest the 1m and 3m springboard, and the 10m individual and synchronised events.

But Mitcham will not have it all his own way in the absence of the ever-dangerous Chinese.

English teenager Tom Daley is the world champion in the 10m platform, while Canada's Alexandre Despatie is the man to beat in the springboard events.

Mitcham spearheads a 12-person Australian diving team that also features Olympic silver medallist Melissa Wu and Commonwealth Games gold medallists Sharleen Stratton and Briony Cole.

Victorian James O'Connor, competing in the 10m platform event, is the youngest member of the team at age 15. Other Games debutants are Anabelle Smith, Olivia Wright, Jaele Patrick, Ethan Warren and Grant Nel.

Laine Clark
AAP