10 Facts About Julie Russell

Julie Elizabeth Russell was born on 20 August 1951 and is an Australian Paralympic athlete, powerlifter and wheelchair basketballer.

Julie Russell graduated from university with a biology degree and began working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the biochemistry department for 5 years before she became involved in sports.

Julie Russell has been married to Paralympic athlete, coach, and administrator Eric Russell since 1979.

Julie Russell won four gold medals, a silver and a bronze in athletics and archery at the 1979 Stoke Mandeville Paraplegic World Games, her first international competitive event.

Julie Russell was a member of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Julie Russell was selected to compete in basketball at the 1992 Games not purely for her skills in basketball but as an experienced athlete who could act as a role model and a calming influence on the younger athletes of the team.

Julie Russell was selected as the Women's Representative for Weightlifting after a meeting in 1984.

Julie Russell competed in powerlifting at the 2000 Sydney Games, the first Paralympics in which women could compete in the sport, after lobbying for the inclusion of women's powerlifting in the Paralympics for the past fourteen years; she came seventh in the women's powerlifting event.

Julie Russell received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for "outstanding contribution to Paralympic Powerlifting".

Julie Russell has refereed powerlifting events at the Paralympics and Commonwealth Games since the 2004 Athens Paralympics.