SINGAPORE - The Singapore Swimming Association has appointed Australian Shannon Roy as its new national head coach for diving.

He was a gold medallist in the 3m springboard event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and also a bronze medalist in the 3m springboard synchronised event (with Dean Pullar) at the world championships that year.

Roy replaces Xu Jie, who left the team in July last year to return to Canada after helping to lift the local diving scene and helped build a squad from scratch.

As head coach, Roy will oversee the coaching programme, including talent identification and high performance coaching in the lead-up to the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia.

His coaching experience include multiple national junior and senior champions in the United States, and was head coach at the Western Australia Institute of Sport prior to joining Singapore.

He said: "Singapore has the potential to make a real mark in the world of diving and I am very excited about this opportunity to work with the diving fraternity. This is my first time coaching in Asia and I hope to bring a holistic style of coaching which I believe will bring the best out of divers and coaches here."

Said William Lee, SSA's vice-president of diving: "We had a very strong showing at the 2015 SEA Games, clinching seven medals, but our long-term aim is to have one of our athletes qualify for the Olympics. Shannon brings very strong credentials, and we believe that his strength of character, professionalism and ambition will take Singapore Diving to the very next level."