Wu dedicates 10m win to Stannard, diver

It took 12 years but Melissa Wu has finally won an individual Commonwealth Games gold.

But instead of thinking of herself, Wu, 25, dedicated her 10m platform win to those who couldn't share the breakthrough win pool-side - cousin James Stannard and retired teammate Taneka Kovchenko.

Saving her best until last, Wu (360.40 points) pipped Canada's Rio bronze medallist Meaghan Benfeito (359.75) with her fifth and last dive while England's Lois Toulson (344.20) took bronze on the Gold Coast on Thursday night.

It marked her first individual Games gold since making her debut as a pint-sized 13-year-old in 2006 Melbourne.

Wu's thoughts quickly turned to her cousin, Australian Sevens captain Stannard, and Kovchenko who both by rights should have been at the Games, only to be denied by fate.

Olympic silver medallist Wu had been devastated by news that Stannard had to pull out of the Games after a coward punch fractured his skull barely a week before the start of competition.

Wu snares gold.

And Wu was left reeling again when her 10m synchro partner Kovchenko sadly had to retire just days ahead of the Games.

Kovchenko was told she could become a quadriplegic if she continued diving after scans revealed a compressed spinal cord.

"This doesn't make up for him missing out. I am heartbroken for him," Wu said of Stannard.

"I actually got to see him today in the village which was amazing.

"Just to see a smile on his face again after all that he has been through was nice - that inspired me.

"I am diving for Taneka. I am diving for him."

Remarkably Wu also almost missed the Games when she could not attend the selection trials as she battled neck and back issues.

But she received special consideration from national selectors to get the nod for her fourth Games campaign.

Australia's Brittany O'Brien finished seventh and teammate Teju Williamson 11th in the 12-strong 10m final.

Wu backed up from Wednesday's 10m synchro final where she finished fourth with Kovchenko's last minute injury replacement Williamson despite having just two training sessions together on the tricky outdoor Gold Coast 10m platform.

Somehow Wu and Williamson quickly clicked and threatened to snatch bronze before being denied by 0.36 of a point for third by Malaysia's Mun Yee Leong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri on the fifth and final dive.