Standing on the podium beside an outgoing springboard legend, third-placed Wu Minxia can finally bid farewell to the shadow of "diving diva" Guo Jingjing and begin a new era in Chinese diving.

The women's 3m springboard final on Sunday evening was probably the swan songs for triple Olympic champion Guo and Russian veteran Julian Pakhalina, who are both considering retirement after the Beijing Olympics.

In an epic battle for a historic springboard gold, both Guo and Pakhalina staged near perfect dives to pocket gold and silver medals, leaving the bronze to Wu, who also showed considerable skill despite a glitch on her first attempt.

Wu Minxia

Cheered on by an emotional capacity crowd, Wu earned her highest score of 85.50 points on the fourth dive - a reverse two-and-a-half somersault in pike position - outscoring both Guo and Pakhalina in their final attempts.

"I showed my best in the competition, and I am satisfied with the bronze. Both the winner and runner-up were too strong," Wu said after the final.

Having collected 10 Olympic and world championship medals, Wu seems to always finish second to "diving queen" Guo, whether it's at the Worlds or the Olympics.

When she does make it to the top, it is always with her more famous partner in synchronized events.

But the 22-year-old is expected to carry the Chinese diving standard once Guo is gone.

Born in November 1985, Wu took up diving when she was in kindergarten. Both her diving coach and her ballet teacher wanted to nurture the pretty girl.

Wu finally decided to be a diver, simply because she loves water.

"I feel bad if I don't touch water for a day," Wu said. "Especially on weekends, when I cannot be in water, I feel terrible. To make myself feel good, I take a shower."

After suffering a hip injury in 1999, Wu would get anxious before every dive, and sometimes even felt scared.

She would repeatedly review her dives in her head to boost confidence before she jumped.

"If you want to succeed, first you have to learn how to sacrifice," she said. "As an athlete, as long as you are strict with yourself, you will be rewarded."

Wu, a Shanghai native, sprang to fame when she earned the women's 3m springboard synchro title at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Guo Jingjing.

Few remember her silver medal in the individual event in Athens, as more attention went to Guo's lopsided victory.

Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Guo for years clearly taught Wu that the biggest disparity between she and Guo was in their mental strength.

"I know what my problem is. I don't want to be compared with Guo Jingjing. She is a good rival. She is there to be my goal," Wu said.

The two divers, currently world No 1 and No 2, have dominated synchronized springboard since they first teamed up in 2001.

They have bagged three world championships, claimed Olympic gold in Athens as well as China's first diving gold in Beijing on Aug 10.

National team coach Liu Henglin said Wu's advantage lies in her perfect figure, which adds elegance and fluency to her dives.

Liu said the more experienced Guo has better control of the springboard, otherwise the two are quite evenly matched.

China's "dream team" of diving has claimed 26 Olympic titles out of 40 in the last 24 years, ever since Zhou Jihong won the country's first diving gold in women's 10m platform at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Chinese Gao Min ruled women's springboard from 1986 to 1992, winning every world and Olympic title during the period.

Fu Mingxia dominated women's platform between 1993 and 2000, collecting four Olympic golds.

It took Guo until the 2004 Athens Games to realize her golden Olympic dreams. Now as the first diver to have won back-to-back Olympic individual and synchro titles, Guo Jingjing is ready to pass the torch.

The era of Wu Minxia has begun.

Xinhua