Laura Wilkinson, 28, will compete in her third Olympics when she heads to Beijing next year. (Getty)

When competition begins at the 2007 FINA World Championships later this month, one diving era will end while another will show the dawning signs of a potentially dynamic global career.

When the 10-meter platform competition begins in Australia, two-time Olympian Laura Wilkinson of the United States expects to make her last appearance at a world championships as she prepares for a self-declared final Olympic push.

Also, 14-year-old American Haley Ishimatsu is scheduled to make her world championship debut with an eye on a lengthy Olympic career.

Both Wilkinson and Ishimatsu left behind gymnastics careers to pursue diving. Wilkinson, 28, first made the National team in 1995 and has won 13 U.S. diving titles. She also won the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Summer Olympics six months after breaking a foot in a training accident.

Wilkinson wore a special shoe to climb the platform ladder and endured the pain well enough to win the first Olympic platform medal for an American since 1964. Before winning gold in 2000, she doubted her Olympic career would continue through Beijing.

"I remember at the 2000 Olympic trials, I did an interview with my coach," Wilkinson said during a teleconference Wednesday. "Somebody asked how long I would be diving. I said, 'I don't know,' and I remember Kenny [Armstrong, her coach] saying 'she'll go through 2008,' and I laughed at him. I thought there's no way I'm going to be 30 years old and still diving. But here I am, almost 30 and still diving and loving the sport and still learning new things."

Wilkinson finished fifth at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. The disappointment compelled her to consider retiring from competition.

"I had all the dives I needed and was training very well," she said. "I didn't know if I could push that passion button anymore. I wasn't sure I'd keep going. But Kenny knew I wasn't done yet."

Inspired in part by her coach's wisdom, Wilkinson won her first world championships in 2005. She added three new dives in 2006 and finished fourth on the 10-meter platform at the World Cup, where she showed the highest degree of difficulty among female divers. Wilkinson won the U.S. Open this year but missed the national championships because of wrist and back problems.

Adjustments to her training and maturity have helped her prolong her career. "I've become a more intelligent diver," she said. "I know when to push through injuries or pain and when to back off a little. I've become more aware of my body and how it's going to react. I put in probably more hours now than I used to, doing extra things like rehab exercises such as Pilates. I feel stronger and more in shape than before."

Wilkinson said the presence of young divers such as Ishimatsu on the national team makes her feel younger and more excited about training and competing.

Long training hours convinced Ishimatsu to leave gymnastics behind in 2004. Her older sister Tory, who finished seventh in the three-meter springboard at the 2006 national champs, was already a competitive diver. But that did not initially ease Haley's fear of extreme elevations.

"I remember I was really scared because I'm not a big fan of heights," she said. "I just had to get used to it. You go up there so many times, and you focus on what you have to do, not the height."

In 2006, Ishimatsu finished second in the 10-meter platform at the 2006 nationals and has competed in six senior international competitions this year. Her best finish was fifth at a Grand Prix meet in Spain. In September, she moved to the National Training Center in Indianapolis.

Ishimatsu will compete in the 10-meter platform and the synchronized 10-meter platform along with another 14-year-old diver, Mary Beth Dunnichay.

Her goal in Australia is simple. "I hope to dive my best," she said. "If it gets me a medal, that's great."