Julie Dowling

Julie Dowling
Personal information
Full name Julie Caroline Dowling
Nationality  Australia
Born (1959-12-07) 7 December 1959

Julie Caroline Van Keulen (née Dowling), BEM[1] (born 7 December 1959)[2] is an Australian Paralympic athlete.

Biography

Born in Tasmania, Dowling had a car accident as a teenager that left her paraplegic.[2] Her first national competition was the 1981 National Para Quad Games, where she won three gold medals and broke three Australian records in javelin, shot put and discus.[2] She then competed at the 1982 FESPIC Games, where she won three gold medals at the same events, breaking a world record in the javelin. At the 1983 Stoke Mandeville Games, she won a gold medal in the javelin with yet another world record, a silver medal in the discus and a bronze medal in the shot put.[2] At the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the Women's Javelin 4 event, breaking a Paralympic record. She also finished fourth in the Women's Shot Put and Women's Discus. [3][4][5][6] She retired from competition after the games.[2]

Recognition

After the 1984 games, Dowling won three Mercury W.D. & H.O. Wills Star of Sport awards, a Sport Australia Award, a national Para Quad trophy for the best female athlete in international events, and a TAS TV Sportswoman of the Year Award.[2] She received a British Empire Medal in 1985.[1] In 2005, she was inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame.[2]

References

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