At just 13 years old, Charlotte Walker is already chasing big dreams. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Charlotte has never let her condition define her. Since the age of eight, she has set her sights on becoming a Paralympian - and she’s now closer than ever to making that dream a reality.
In December 2024, Charlotte was officially nationally classified as a T37/F37 athlete, opening the door for her to compete for Para Athletics awards in New Zealand. But while her ambition and work ethic are sky-high, one of the biggest challenges she faces is fatigue - a common and debilitating side effect of cerebral palsy.
Despite this, the South Canterbury-based young athlete has poured her heart into training throughout the athletics season, consistently improving her personal bests and setting her sights on breaking New Zealand records. However, her energy levels post-competition have always been a major hurdle - until now.
In April, Charlotte travelled to Nelson to compete in the South Island Secondary Schools Athletic Championships. With all three of her key events - 200m sprint, long jump, and 100m sprint - scheduled on the same day, meant it was going to be a huge physical and mental test.
That’s when her brother, who accompanied her to the event, suggested she try CurraNZ, following the recommended usage protocol.
Here’s what happened:
200m Sprint: Charlotte took a massive 2 seconds off her personal best, clocking an incredible 36.06 seconds - just 0.7 seconds shy of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Junior Para record.
Long Jump: Not only did she land six clean jumps, but four of them exceeded her previous personal best of 3.2m. Her longest leap - 3.24m -smashed the NZ Secondary Schools Junior Girls Para record by 26cm!
100m Sprint: To finish the day, Charlotte ran 16.63 seconds, eclipsing her previous best of 17.6 seconds and placing herself just 0.6 seconds off another national record.
What truly stood out on this extraordinary day wasn’t just Charlotte’s performance - but her ability to recover and maintain top form across all three events. In the past, a single event could leave her drained. But with the help of CurraNZ, Charlotte bounced back faster and felt stronger throughout the demanding schedule.
Her family is convinced: without the support of CurraNZ’s powerful blackcurrant extract, Charlotte wouldn’t have been able to perform and recover at such a high level.
Her mother Kirstyn says, “Thanks CurraNZ for such a fabulous natural product that is helping her achieve her goal of wearing the Silver Fern.”
To round it all off, last month Charlotte wiped 40 seconds off her a personal best over 1600m in the Aoraki Regional Cross-Country Championships for her school. She is now training for the South Island Championships later this month.
Keep your eyes on this one - young Charlotte Walker is just getting started.