Julie Tayler was born in 1965 and first competed for Port Talbot Harriers as a ten-year-old in 1975. Success came early for Julie when she won a minor girls 80m hurdles race in the junior league.
This was not to be her main event though. A year later she discovered her real talent as a javelin thrower when she set a new record in the Glamorgan Young Athletes League. Julie made further progress in 1977, winning the Welsh Minor Girls Championship with a record throw of 22.82m. She was also named the Most Promising Minor Javelin Thrower as part of the Welsh squad.
Julie went on to win many county and Welsh championships and also represented Welsh Schools and Wales. She twice represented GB at the European Catholic Schools Games. The pinnacle of her career came when she won the GB javelin championship in 1979 – the first Port Talbot Harrier to win a GB title in the club’s 58-year history.
— Written by John Davies