Original Story: ABC News - Tom Wildie

Teju Williamson is reaching the high notes in Australian diving.

The 18-year-old WA Institute of Sport (WAIS) product is the reigning Australian Elite Junior platform champion and has her sights set on the world stage.

"For the near future, I hope Commonwealth Games," Williamson said.

"From there I will keep training and try and go into the world series, and hopefully Olympics in 2020."

Reaching the elite level of diving would cap an incredible rise for the West Australian, who decided to pursue diving just five years ago.

"I was told when I first started diving I was good, but it wasn't really something I wanted to do at that time," Williamson said.

At the age of 13 she joined a talent program and decided to pursue the sport.

Williamson now has the backing of Olympic silver medallist coach Matthew Helm.

Helm moved from Brisbane 18 months ago to head the WAIS diving program, and said he had no doubt Williamson could make it to the elite level.

"Teju's quite young, so she's quite early in her development," Helm said.

"She has a really great shot at making of the Commonwealth Games next year.

"Then there's another two years she will have under her belt of training and then she's likely to make the 2020 Olympic Games as well."

Williamson will follow in the footsteps of fellow WA diver and current 1 metre springboard World Champion Maddison Keeney, and will move to the High Performance Centre in Brisbane.

The decision to uproot her entire life and move across the country was not an easy one, but the success of Keeney helped sway her.

"All my friends are here, my whole life is here, but now I have seen how Maddi went in Brisbane, and I thought 'well this is probably a really good thing for me'," she said.

Violin provides musical distraction

Diving was not always Williamson's passion.

At just four years old, she took up playing classical violin after watching her brother.

"I just really enjoyed it, for the first few years I did it because I was good at it and because I saw my brother doing it," Williamson said.

About five years ago, the Methodist Ladies' College graduate was told she had to choose between diving and violin, and that she would not be able to do both.

But she spoke to her parents who encouraged her to continue with both pursuits.

"Diving took up most of my time, violin was kind of on the sidelines, but because I had worked so hard when I was younger, I didn't have to do so much when I was older."

"I did manage to balance it even though I was told not to."

Now violin provides a distraction from the stresses of training and elite sport.

"When you're not training, you need to focus on other things and music has helped me focus on things apart from just being bored or stressing about training," Williamson said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/diving-star-pursues-musical-platform/8782930