Valerie's Story
Valerie Beddoe was born in Cloncurry, Queensland, and took her first diving lessons after moving to Rockhampton. Her background in gymnastics and trampolining helped her adapt quickly to the sport, and within four months of training she won silver at the national under-15 championships. After settling in Melbourne, Beddoe emerged internationally with platform silver at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and won gold at the 1979 Diving World Cup.
Competing as Valerie McFarlane, Beddoe was 19 at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, where she reached both finals and placed sixth in the three-metre springboard and seventh in the 10-metre platform. She won platform gold and springboard bronze before a home crowd at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. At Los Angeles 1984, Beddoe finished fifth in the platform and 18th in the springboard. She later claimed another Commonwealth platform silver in 1986 before becoming a coach, selector and administrator in Australian diving.
