Rousseau Now Aims For The Olympics

Ex-Australian circus act wins second 10m platform gold, wants more 'fun' at LA 2028

- Deepanraj Ganesan

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.