Julia Tunks

Last updated

Julia Tunks
Personal information
Born (2006-07-20) 20 July 2006 (age 19)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Discus throw, Shot put
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Discus:: 62.95m (Ramona, 2025) NR
  • Shot put:: 15.23m (Orlando, 2024)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NACAC Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2025 Freeport Discus
Pan American U20 Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Mayagüez Discus

Julia Tunks (born 20 July 2006) is a Canadian discus thrower and shot putter. She has won the Canadian Athletics Championships in the discus throw in 2023 and 2025, that year she became the Canadian national record holder at the age of 18 years-old. [1]

Contents

Early life

From London, Ontario, she is the daughter of Lieja Koeman, who participated in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in the shot put and three-time Olympian discus thrower Jason Tunks. She attended Oakridge Secondary School having previously attended Sir Frederick Banting high school. She played soccer as a goalkeeper before focusing on athletics. [2] [3]

Career

She won the Canadian Athletics Championships for the first time in 2023. [4] She was a gold medalist at the 2023 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships in August 2023 in Mayagüez, Peru with a throw of 56.98 metres. [5] She placed seventh overall at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. [6]

In April 2025 at the age of 18 years-old, she threw 62.95 metres for the discus throw in Ramona, Oklahoma to not only set a new personal best and break her own national under-20 record, but also break the senior Canadian national record which was previously set in 1979 by Carmen Ionesco. [7] [8] She won the Canadian Athletics Championships in Ottawa in 2025 with a championship record throw of 60.68 metres. [9] [10] She was a bronze medalist at the 2025 NACAC Championships in Freeport, The Bahamas. [11]

She was named in the Canadian team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. [12]

Personal life

She is coached by her father Jason Tunks. Her younger sister Jenna also competes in athletics and won the Canadian U20 Championships in the discus throw in 2024 and 2025. [13]

References

  1. "Julia Tunks". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  2. "Julia Tunks ready to follow Olympian dad Jason's discus-tossing footsteps". lfpress. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  3. "How a London, Ont., gym is breeding a new generation of Olympians". cbc.ca. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  4. "Canadian Championships". World Athletics. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  5. "Pan American U20 Championships". World Athletics. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  6. "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  7. "18-year-old shatters Canada's oldest women's track and field record". Running Magazine. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. "Oklahoma Throws Series". World Athletics. 6 April 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  9. "Sport notes: Julia Tunks smashes record; Detroit Lions eye London return". London Free Press. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  10. "Canadian Championships". World Athletics. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  11. "Nacac Championships". World Athletics. 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  12. Dickinson, Marley (28 August 2025). "Athletics Canada names 59 athletes to 2025 World Championships team". Running Magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  13. Lale, Brent (6 August 2025). "Mackay, Tunks capture gold, shatter records at Canadian championships". ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 17 August 2025.