Thrower Charli defies medical challenges to excel in Para athletics

Original story from: Thrower Charli defies medical challenges to excel in Para athletics - Paralympics New Zealand

In the latest of our series focusing on Para athletes in intake one of the Para Sport Collective, supported by ACC, we put a spotlight on Para athlete Charli Gardiner-Hall.

For Charli Gardiner-Hall to excel as a Para athlete has taken extraordinary courage and bravery.

Defying regular seizures connected to her condition, the teenage thrower has secured Oceania and national medals besides setting a slew of national records in shot put, discus and javelin.

Born with Sturge Weber Syndrome Type 3 – a neurological condition – the 17-year-old lives with a weakness down the right-hand side of her body coupled with co-ordination issues. Yet it is the regular seizures – which occur as often as twice a month – which cause the greatest concern.

“She can be walking along before suddenly face planting to the ground, like her legs have just been kicked out from underneath her,” explains Mum, Kylie. “Charli is fully conscious throughout the seizure but can’t do anything. It is like being trapped inside your own body. Yet her ability to bounce back from a seizure within the next hour or so is amazing. She has such resilience, although I don’t want to downplay how frightening she finds the seizures.”

Charli echoes the view of her mum: “When I haven’t had a seizure for a longer period, I fear it is going to be bigger. That is quite scary when you don’t know when they are going to come”.

One such terrifying incident occurred on Christmas Eve at Oakura Beach near New Plymouth. Charli was paddling in the water only to suddenly experience a seizure. Submerged under water, she was rescued by an ex-lifeguard from a potential drowning.

It was a harrowing incident and for Kylie, who had momentarily looked away from Charli from her vantage point on the shoreline, it was deeply distressing.

“I was in total disbelief,” recalls Kylie. “I felt so guilty that I hadn’t seen it. I was just desperate for her to be okay. I had a moment of – is this it?! Every time a seizure happens we develop a new set of protocols to try and keep her safe.”

Besides the physical challenges of her condition the Waiuku-based teenager also finds comprehension and understanding language difficult. As mum Kylie describes: “Her processing skills are compromised in that the filing system in her memory is a bit like her bedroom in that it is often messy.”

Yet despite living with Sturge Weber Syndrome Type 3, Charli has never used it as an excuse, and she has always possessed a fierce determination and competitive spirit.

That was evident when as a younger child she competed in mud runs with her family.

“Because of the body weakness and impaired co-ordination Charli used to trip over a lot, picking up bruises and grazes,” explains Kylie. “Her dad would pull her along and she would often finish the race last and in tears.

“After each race I thought there is no way she would want to run another race but because her older brother Quinn (by two years) competed she would always want to do another one. Whatever he did, she would also want to do too. One of Charli’s most amazing qualities is her resilience.”

It was through her brother, Quinn, a former thrower and race walker at Waiuku Athletics Club, where Charli was introduced to the sport. She tasted a range of events from middle-distance running, long jump and race walking – often struggling and finishing towards the back of the field. However, it was attending a training session for Quinn when Charli’s sporting career was to take a new turn.

Paralympian #31 John Eden was at the session when he asked Kylie whether she had any other kids. When she pointed to Charli and explained her medical condition, it acted as a “lightbulb moment.”

“That’s when John said, ‘It sounds like Charli has a disability – she might be a Para athlete’, recalls Kylie. “Up until then we had never considered that she would be a Para athlete,” she explains. “It was a pivotal moment.”

Starting out as a Para athlete aged 12 under the coaching of John, Charli quickly discovered purpose and meaning and an outlet for her competitive instincts.

“I liked the competition,” says Charli. “I might lose sometimes but I always enjoyed it. It is always fun learning about athletes with other disabilities and finding new friends.”

John also found Charli was best suited to the throwing events – shot put, discus and javelin – and he set a clear goal from the outset.

“I never look at her as an athlete with a disability, the aim is to make her the best athlete that she can be,” explains John.

However, without question, she faces definite challenges. Gym exercises require modification to align the right and left-hand side of the body. Unlike many athletes in the cerebral palsy para category, Charli adopts the spin rather than the glide technique for discus and shot put while she also struggles with memory retention.

“We work a lot on repetition,” explains John. “Often in the circle she may forget elements to her technique and because of her condition she gets tired very quickly which means we have to be smart and shorten the length of the training sessions.”

With John’s support she has reaped some rich rewards. She is a multiple gold-medal winning national champion. She holds national age-group T37 records in shot put, discus and javelin and last year she achieved the biggest prize of her career so far, bagging an outstanding silver medal in the senior discus at the 2024 Oceania Championships in Fiji.

Charli’s career development was also given a boost in 2023 when she was invited on to intake one of the Para Sport Collective, supported by ACC, which offered the chance to connect with other Para athletes and coaches and a range of learning and development opportunities.

Mum, Kylie, who attended the various Para Sport Collective camps in support of her daughter, said: “It was amazing that as a young up and coming Para athlete, Charli was exposed to the Collective which gave her access to so many experts – whether it is psychologists, physios or nutritionists – giving her that introduction to elite Para sport.”

Charli herself admitted she gained so much from being part of the programme adding: “I picked up so many skills and really enjoyed the Drug Free Sport sessions. It was good to have an insight into how a drug test works, and it was especially handy because I had my first drug test earlier this year.”

A Year 13 student at Waiuku College, Charli trains six times a week which includes three throws sessions at the Athletics New Zealand “Home of Throws” in Takanini in South Auckland, and three 5.30am gym sessions per week, which requires her alarm to be set at 4.15am.

With John insisting Charli has “a nice feel” for the discus – which he believes is probably her number one event – he is taking her development one step at a time.

As Charli is still aged only 17, John is wisely reluctant to make too many predictions but says this winter the focus will be on enhancing her strength, conditioning and athleticism to make even more gains in the circle with the goal in 2026 for Charli to earn selection for the New Zealand team at the Oceania Championships in Darwin.

Yet whatever happens in the future, John believes Charli is equipped with many qualities which will allow her to succeed and make the best of her gifts.

“Charli works hard and if I ask her to run through a brick wall she would run through a brick wall,” he says. “She trusts me to do the right thing. I like to build a team through the relationship with my athletes and I think I have a good relationship with her.

“I have some athletes I coach with a disability and some that I don’t, you learn off each other,” he says. “The other athletes in the group are going to help her, and she is starting to help them it is a really good marriage, and Charli brings lots of positivity to the group.”

There is no doubt the inspirational role Para athletics has played in Charli’s life. It has given her focus, routine and an outlet for her competitive nature.

“Para athletics has been one of the most important anchors in Charli’s life, especially as learning has been challenging for her and keeping up with conversations has sometimes made friendships tricky,” explains Kylie. “Charli has gone through some hard times and felt really low, but Para athletics has given her the opportunity to be successful and it has given her confidence.

“I’m super proud of not only what she has achieved but accepting all the challenges she has faced in her life.”

For Charli she is just in the opening chapters of her Para athletics journey.

“I would like to go to the Para Athletics World Championships and the Paralympic Games which proves if I can do it, anyone can.”

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