Introduction
Julia Ratcliffe (born 14 July 1993) is a track and field athlete who specialises in the hammer throw. She competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she won a silver medal.
Ratcliffe attended Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, and is currently studying at Princeton University. While at Princeton she broke the Ivy League record for the indoor 20 lb weight throw in her first competition with the implement. In her first outdoor competition she broke the Ivy League record in the hammer throw. In 2014 she was unbeaten in the NCAA, was the NCAA Division 1 Hammer Throw champion and was awarded the USTFCCCA Division 1 Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the year. In July 2016 she broke the New Zealand national record in the hammer throw with a distance of 70.75 m.
International results – Hammer
| 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 |
Records – Hammer
| Year | Record | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Pacific School Games – Girls 15 years | 46.90m |
| 2008 | New Zealand Secondary Schools – Junior Girls | 56.02m (3 kg) |
| 2009 | Australian Youth Olympic Festival | 51.94m |
| 2010 | New Zealand – Women Under 17 | 56.68m |
| 2010 | Oceania – Youth | 61.32m |
| 2011 | New Zealand Secondary Schools – Senior Girls | 57.67m |
| 2011 | New Zealand – Women Under 18 | 62.28m |
| 2012 | New Zealand – Women Under 19 | 64.21m |
| 2012 | Oceania – Junior | 67.00m |
| 2013 | New Zealand – Women Under 20 | 68.80m |
| 2014 | Ivy League | 70.28m |
| 2016 | New Zealand – Women - Resident | 69.93m |
| 2016 | New Zealand – Women - Allcomers | 69.93m |
| 2016 | New Zealand – Women | 70.75m |
Commonwealth best performances – Hammer
| Year | Best Performance | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Commonwealth – Youth | 61.32m |
| 2012 | Commonwealth – Junior | 67.00m |
Best Performance – 20lb Indoor Weight
| Year | Best Performance | Meeting | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New Zealand Indoor – Women | New Year Invitational | 19.95m |
Other sports
Julia played field hockey for Waikato Diocesan School, captained Waikato Hockey representative teams at three different age levels and was a member of the Waikato representative team that won the national under 14 tournament in 2005.