Former Australia’s Got Talent finalist Cassiel Rousseau is diving world champion for a second time

SINGAPORE – When Australian diver Cassiel Rousseau was 11, he was performing acrobatics of a very different kind, not in front of a diving crowd but a reality TV audience.

He was the youngest member of an acrobatic troupe from Brisbane that made the 2012 grand final of reality show Australia’s Got Talent and, as part of the act, he was catapulted from one side of the stage to the other.

Today, Rousseau, 24, is a serious performer and a world champion.

He proved his credentials on Aug 3, when he became a two-time 10m platform world champion at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships (WCH).

The final day of diving saw the Australian clinch the gold medal with 534.80 points from six dives at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Oleksii Sereda earned Ukraine’s first medal of this meet, as he finished 19.60 points behind Rousseau to take the silver, while Randal Willars Valdez of Mexico won bronze with 511.95 points.

When The Straits Times asked Rousseau if he ever thought his days as a circus act and TV talent would lead him to become the world’s best in his diving discipline, he burst out in laughter.

“Not one bit. That’s crazy. It just means that I’m doing well, obviously,” he said. “Something is going right. It is down to having fun and being motivated. I have a great support team back at home. I have a great support team here.”

Rousseau, whose first world title came in 2023, has not only beaten his opponents, but also overcome a fear of heights – by calming himself down before each dive.

The gold medal on Aug 3 adds to the silver which he won alongside compatriot Maddison Keeney in the mixed 3m synchronised event on July 30.

Rousseau said he was surprised by his latest win.

“I knew it was possible to get on the podium, but to become first again, I didn’t really think there was really a chance, just because of how strong the event is,” said the Australian.

“So yes, unexpected, but definitely very grateful for being able to perform today.”

While he has now won the world title twice, Rousseau has yet to bag an Olympic medal. He finished eighth in the men’s 10m platform at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and then fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

A medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will mean that he will be the second Olympic medallist in his family. His grandfather, French cyclist Michel Rousseau, won gold in the individual sprint at Melbourne 1956.

But Rousseau, whose mother moved from Paris to Australia, does not feel any pressure about winning medals.

He said: “I don’t really care about that. My philosophy is that this is a hobby for me. If I’m not having fun, that’s when I’m going to quit. Coming into this year, I’ve been having a lot more fun... and that is why I do the sport. Even if I didn’t finish first today, that fun would have still carried across.”

The silver medal, however, was priceless for Sereda, whose country has been devastated by Russia’s invasion. Sereda, who trains in Kiev, said that multiple times during his training, the session would have to be paused so that he could seek shelter.

“I am really proud to represent my country in this way,” said the 19-year-old. “Even in these horrible, awful conditions, with war, with rockets all the time, we’re capable of training and fighting.”

With Australia, Ukraine and Mexico securing the podium spots, it meant that it was the first diving event here in which China failed to win a medal.

At Paris 2024, China became the first nation to sweep all eight gold medals at the Olympics.

While a similar shut-out was not possible this time around, Chinese divers were still named the best diving team on Aug 3, having won nine gold medals, three silvers and four bronzes from 13 events. Australia were second with two golds and a silver.

China remain the standard-bearers of the sport, but there are signs that the “outsiders” are not too far behind.

On Aug 1, Mexican diver Osmar Olvera Ibarra

ended China’s near two-decade stranglehold

on the men’s 3m springboard with his maiden gold medal preventing the diving powerhouse, represented by Cao Yuan and Wang Zongyuan, from making it 11 consecutive wins. Cao Yuan and Wang Zongyuan finished second and third respectively.

On July 30, Chiara Pellacani and Matteo Santoro won Italy’s first-ever mixed 3m synchronised title and first WCH diving gold since 2015.

On July 26, the first day of the diving events, Australia’s Keeney won the women’s 1m springboard ahead of China’s Li Yajie.