Julia Ratcliffe

Julia Ratcliffe is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete who specialised in the hammer throw. She won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, having won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 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, netball, and hurdling.
Ratcliffe attended Princeton University 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.

Ratcliffe began participating in hammer throw at age 12.
In 2014, Ratcliffe won the NCAA 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 in Tokyo.
Ratcliffe announced her retirement on 13 January 2023.

Source: Athletics New Zealand Records & Rankings

Year	Event	Location	Place
2008	Pacific School Games	Canberra	1st
2009	Australian Youth Olympic Festival	Sydney	1st
2009	IAAF World Youth Championships	Brixen	10th
2010	Oceania Youth Championships	Sydney	1st
2010	Youth Olympic Games	Singapore	11th
2012	Bauhaus Junioren-Gala	Mannheim	1st
2012	IAAF World Junior Championships	Barcelona	4th
2013	World University Games	Kazan	8th
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow	2nd
2015	World University Games	Gwangju	3rd
2017	IAAF World Championships	London	26th
2017	World University Games	Taipei	11th
2018	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast	1st
2019	Oceania Championships in Athletics	Townsville	1st
2019	IAAF World Athletics Championships	Doha	14th
2021	Summer Olympics	Tokyo	9th
2022	World Athletics Championships	Eugene	16th
2022	Commonwealth Games	Birmingham	2nd