Julia Ratcliffe (born 14 July 1993) is a New Zealand track and field athlete who specialises in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

. She won the gold medal at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, having won the silver medal at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow.

Personal life

Ratcliffe was born in Hamilton to Dave and Sue Ratcliffe, and has one older sister, Sarah. She attended Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, where she was head girl and dux in her final year. In her youth, she participated in various sports including

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

, and

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. Ratcliffe attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in New Jersey, United States. She graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in economics and a certificate in political economy. As of April 2020, she works as an economic analyst for the

Reserve Bank of New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for N ...

Career

Ratcliffe began participating in hammer throw at age 12. In 2014, Ratcliffe won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

hammer throw title, becoming Princeton University's first female track and field NCAA champion. Ratcliffe held the New Zealand national record in the hammer throw from July 2012 until September 2020. She reclaimed the national title in March 2021, setting a new national record of 73.55 metres at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships. In April 2021, Ratcliffe was selected to compete at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo.

Statistics

Annual progression

Source: Athletics New Zealand Records & Rankings

International results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Julia 1993 births Living people New Zealand female hammer throwers Olympic athletes of New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for New Zealand Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Princeton University alumni People educated at Waikato Diocesan School 20th-century New Zealand women 21st-century New Zealand women