MELBOURNE, Australia – Laura Wilkinson strolled out from behind the wall, 33 feet above the water and seemingly without a care in the world.

She smiled at the American contingent, whooping and hollering from the stands down below. She acknowledged the head judge with a nod, then stepped confidently toward the end of the platform.

One would have thought the defending world champion and 2000 Olympic gold medalist had a comfortable lead in her signature event. Instead, Wilkinson was on the verge of being knocked out of the world championships on her very first night.

No worries, mate.

She’s been in this situation before.

Wilkinson pulled off one of her patented comebacks Tuesday, nailing the final dive of the evening to squeak into the 10-meter semifinals after she botched three straight attempts – one so badly that she nearly landed on her back.

“She’s one of those special athletes who has the uncanny ability to say, ‘Look, this is not life. This is diving. Let’s just go in and do as good as we can do,”‘ said Ken Armstrong, her coach. “That quality is so hard to find in most people.”

After a solid opening dive, Wilkinson totally botched her second attempt, an inward 3½ somersault. Her takeoff was fine and the spins were tight, but she misjudged the point where she needed to come out of her tuck.

Wilkinson’s legs flung out toward the water instead of going in nice and straight, creating a huge splash that left the crowd groaning. The judges certainly took note, awarding her ugly scores that ranged from 1.0 to 2.5.

“Actually, I was really shocked,” Wilkinson said. “I knew I came out of it a little bit, but I didn’t expect to do that. I really didn’t know how to react to it. Now I know. You can always learn something new, even when you’re old like me.”

At 29, she’s the oldest member of the U.S. diving team and more than twice the age of two 14-year-old teammates, Haley Ishimatsu and Mary Beth Dunnichay.

But Wilkinson shoved aside any thoughts of retirement after a fifth-place showing at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She had been a surprising gold medalist at the Sydney Games, even while wearing a protective boot on her foot just months after breaking it. She really wanted to get back to the top step of the podium in Greece.

When it didn’t happen, she moved on with an eye toward Beijing. Winning platform at the 2005 championships in Montreal re-established her standing as one of the world’s best divers.

“She took it to heart that they took her (Olympic) championship away from her,” Armstrong said. “She came out immediately after that saying, ‘I’m ready to go back to work when you are.’ She didn’t stop, not for one moment.”

Wilkinson isn’t in top form for these worlds, having undergone wrist surgery in September. She didn’t resume her full list of dives until January, so she’s not had nearly as much practice time as most of her competitors.

“In a heavy situation like this, you’ve got to know your stuff,” Armstrong said. “We’re still in the process of learning that. But this one here isn’t the one we want anyway. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, that’s OK. We want Beijing.”

Don’t count out Wilkinson in Melbourne, either. She has a history of coming through in the clutch.

At the U.S. Olympic trials in 2004, Wilkinson went to her final dive with a slender lead and facing the very real prospect of missing the Athens Games altogether. Of course, she nailed it.

A couple of months later, Wilkinson barely survived the 10-meter preliminaries at the Olympics, again putting up a big score on her last attempt to qualify for the next round.

This time, she went to the last dive in 22nd place, with only the top 18 advancing to the semifinals. Wilkinson didn’t falter a bit, putting up marks ranging from 8.0 to 9.0 on a back 2½ somersault with 1½ twists.

Experience – you can’t beat it.

“You don’t ever, ever give up till it’s over,” said Wilkinson, who jumped up to 16th. “That’s something the new divers really need to know. Sometimes, they miss their second dive and they just give up. I missed all three of my middle dives. But you’ve still got to keep fighting. You can’t just give up. That’s the big lesson today.”

Here’s another lesson: Wilkinson will have her hands full trying to beat the powerful Chinese. They looked unstoppable through the first two days of diving, sweeping a pair of synchronized events Monday and leading both preliminaries Tuesday.

Luo Yutong upstaged No. 1-ranked teammate He Chong on the 1-meter springboard, while Chen Ruolin was the clear-cut leader on the tower.