Charlene Robertson

Charlie's athletic journey started with a variety of sports until high school, such as tennis, mountain climbing triathlon and XC. At this time Charlie attended the American School in Doha and here, she also explored her talent for running. Moreover, her experience at the American School greatly contributed to her affinity with the American school system and her determination to attend an American University. At the age of 12, she was involved in both field hockey and track. But after 3 years of combining both sports, she decided to fully focus on track and field for her club team Haag Atletiek. This decision proved to be a turning point in her athletic career. 

The diversity of sports Charlie played helped her develop as an athlete. Playing multiple sports made her more versatile, agile, and strong, which gave her a good foundation for success in track and field.

Charlie's hard work and talent have already led to some impressive achievements. In 2020, at the age of 14, she won the U18 National Indoor Championship in the 1500m. She has also placed third in the U18 Outdoor Nationals in the same event in both 2021 and 2023. She placed second for the 3000m and 1500m in the 2024 U20 Indoor National Championships. Recently she participated in the 5000m CPC Road Race in The Hague with a time of 18:01. 

Charlie's story shows that hard work, dedication, and a focus on goals can lead to success. These characteristics along with her strong mental game and natural speed make her a great athlete. However, during her puberty she dealt with some typical growth related injuries which kept her from repeating her earlier successes. After this period, she has emotionally and physically matured, is more resilient than ever and hasn't suffered any injuries since. As a result of this, her PBs greatly improved across the board, with more opportunity for growth. With hard work she expects to improve them even more this summer. 

Her current PBs:

800m: 2:13,88 (2023)

1500m: 4:24,60 (2024)

3000m: 10:10,00 (2024)

Her early exposure to different sports helped her develop a love for athletics. As she continues to chase her athletic dreams, Charlie is sure to achieve even more success in the future. She plans to further enhance her skills in the US, aiming to break the 4:10 barrier in the 1500m. Her ultimate goal is to represent her college track team with pride and compete at international competitions, such as the European Championships and the World Championships.

Academics

Charlie has also received a certificate from the University of Leiden as a result of following their pre-university classes. Aside from that, she has done a lot of volunteer work at primary schools where one-on-one learning is crucial for the children. She has partaken in some of the largest conferences in Europe for Model United Nations and is also part of her Eco-team at her current high school in the Netherlands, making changes and pressing for a better future.

Charlie is currently enrolled in the highest level of high school (VWO) in The Netherlands. Academics are important to her and she would like to enroll in a challenging academic program. She is interested in various study areas such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics and human anatomy. Her command of English is at a native level due to her time spent abroad and her English speaking mother. 

For more information about academics, please check out the details section below.