Julie Charlton

Sydney Wheelchair athlete and hard-working coach, Julie Charlton has been selected for Glasgow 2026, her second Commonwealth Games team. She will compete in the F57 Shot Put.

+ + + + +

In her youth, Julie Charlton was no fan of sport.

“I hated sport growing up because schools didn’t know how to appropriately include people with disabilities into sport with the rest of their peers,” said Julie.

But one teacher would eventually make life changing decision for Julie.

“At my second school, my PE teacher Mr Butcher entered me into our school athletics carnival, my event being shot put. This was in 2008 at age 9 and the rest is history.”

Over the ensuring years, she would compete on the track and in the field, but she had a strong preference. “I’ve had a deep love for throws for over 10 years and I constantly have the desire to better myself within my sport. When the pandemic hit, while i did lose the ability to use accessible training spaces like SOPAC, I made up for it by utilising my strength and conditioning coach Mitch Kerr who has been helping me throughout the lockdown.”

She made her international debut in 2016, winning gold, silver and bronze medals at the IWAS World Junior Championships (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation) in Prague. It was her first overseas trip and first major international competition. She would again compete for Australia at the 2019 Oceania Championships. She won gold and silver in the javelin and shot, but the competition holds special memories as she was throwing in memory of a family member who had just passed away.

Julie’s pathway to selection in the Commonwealth games team was challenging. The scenario was for her event/classification to be ranked in the top-7 athletes. The Commonwealth Games Federation would also invite one bipartite place to make eight,

“It really has been a massive roller coaster,” recalled Charlton. She started ranked fifth, but despite setting PBs during summer, had slipped to eighth when there were a few Indian athletes classified. It was a nervous time over April as she waited to see if she would be offered the bipartite Invitation. She was and then in May named in the Australian team.

“It has been a career-long dream to be able to represent para sport in any way that I can. Looking back to the beginning of my sporting career, I never thought I would ever represent my country, let alone make a career in sport my reality. Before I started in sport, people didn’t know how to include me in sporting events. It took two of my PE teachers from two schools (Mr Butcher and Mr Muir) to actually believe in my ability and take a chance to include me in sport, giving me a fair shot at success.”

Away from the track, Julie is a strong advocate for para-sport in Australia.

“I want to foster para athletics in Australia. My dream is to continue to grow para athletics across NSW and Australia through coaching, sports management and more. As an athlete, I want to continue to set new personal goals and try to better myself as much as possible. As a coach, I want to grow my squad as much as possible in order to spread my love of athletics.”

Julie works as a human rights advocate with CYDA (Children and Young People with a Disability Australia) and is a member of the Disability Council of NSW under the NSW Government.

She is also giving back to the sport she will now represent international, but assisting the next generation as a seated throwing coach with her own coaching business – JC2 Athletics.

Hero: Louise Sauvage because she has faced so many barriers in her career and yet she has made so many young women with disabilities become determined enough to strive for the excellence they desire for their lives… Influential person in your career: Athletics NSW official Rob Blackadder – he is supporter of the para athletics community. I would not be where i am today without him. He helped me get equipment to be able to train, he has supported me through many elements of my career and he has always been working to support me in everything I do…Advice to your young self: Every barrier you have faced will only teach you how to become a stronger person in the future…Hobbies: musical theatre and theatre in general…Education: ACPE- Bachelor of Sports Coaching and Management…Award: In the 2025 Australian Day awards, she received the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to sport, and to people with disability

@ 19 June 2026 David.tarbotton@athletics.org.au