Sport + Motorsport
Charli Gardiner-Hall is winning gold medals while studying for her degree online.
The 18-year-old para-athlete took gold at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin last week, setting new New Zealand records in the process. She also tops the 2026 world rankings in discus for her classification.
Gardiner-Hall chose to study a Bachelor of Professional Communication through SIT Online specifically so she could maintain her six-day training schedule.
"I chose to study through SIT because it provided me with the ideal online study option which enables me to continue with all of my para-athletics training," she says. She originally considered a flexible option at another provider, but discovered she would need to be on campus full-time in the final year.
"That was just not possible with my training schedule and my coach's location," she explains.
SIT's fully online option solved the problem. "By studying with SIT, I can keep training six days per week and work my study around that."
The transition from secondary school to university was rocky. Gardiner-Hall admits feeling overwhelmed when she started her SIT studies.
"The shift from college work to uni work was big for me and I felt out of my depth. I thought, there was no way I could do this, and I was really worried about failing."
Studying alone made it harder. "Without having others around me doing the same thing as me ... initially I wasn't very good at focusing." She tapped into SIT's Student Support Services for weekly planning meetings. "We set up weekly meets to help with my planning; it was a massive help."
Watching friends share campus experiences on Instagram stung. "I had a bit of a pity party, then I got back up again. I was sad I couldn't have that experience too and felt like I was missing out. But I remembered why I'm doing things this way and now I'm really enjoying it."
Gardiner-Hall has been throwing discus and shot put since she was seven, initially "mainly for fun and to make friends". She trains three days in the throws circle and three days in the gym, travelling at least 45 minutes each way for sessions.
This year brought breakthrough performances. At the New Zealand Track and Field Championships, she won the senior para women's discus title despite not being the top seed.
"... to come out and beat the top seed and throw such a consistently strong series of throws, was awesome," she says. She also broke New Zealand para records for both the U19 and U20 discus in her category. "Something I had been chasing all season!"
Two Australian competitions followed in April. At the senior championships in Sydney, she set personal bests twice in shot put and smashed the U19 New Zealand record. "I PB'd (personal best) twice in the senior shot put, and smashed the U19 New Zealand record, so that was epic."
A week later in Brisbane, she beat Australian athletes to win their U20 para discus event and took silver in shot put. "It was pretty neat bringing back two shiny medals in my luggage."
The Oceania Championships gold capped her season. "Pulling on the New Zealand singlet and representing my country gives me so much joy and makes all the hard work worth it. And I come from a very competitive family, so it's in my blood!"
Being top of the world rankings surprised her. "That just blew my mind," she says.
After graduation, she plans to work in communications for para or junior sport. "And of course, I'll be working on my big goal of one day representing New Zealand at the Paralympics," she says confidently.
The laptop travels with her to competitions. "A big highlight is being able to blend both my study and my para-athletics. I am competing at both national and international level now and I am about to fly out to Aussie for my third international competition this year. My laptop comes with me on the plane, and I can do my study wherever I am."