Julie Charlton (athletics) made her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham in 2022 where she finished 9th in the women’s shot put F57. It was the first time that shot put for athletes with a disability had appeared on the program since Delhi 2010.

Julie took up para-athletics when she was 10, trying a variety of disciplines in the sport. At one point she was approached by Birmingham teammate Rosemary Little, who, after watching her compete remarked: “If you can do that in your day chair, I’d like to see how fast you can go in a track chair”.

After winning events at the 2016 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Junior Athletics Championships and the 2019 Oceania Championships, Charlton claimed NSW state titles in across track events, as well as shot put and discus, in 2020 and 2021.

Julie competes for the Cherrybrook Athletics Club in northwest Sydney but also combines competing with coaching and was named Sport NSW Young Coach of the Year in 2019. Outside athletics, she works as a human rights advocate with CYDA (Children and Young People with a Disability Australia). She is also a member of the Disability Council of NSW under the NSW Government.