Australian Olympic diving champion, Chantelle Newbery, is facing a further 19 drug-related and other criminal allegations, marking another chapter in the former gold medallist’s prolonged legal troubles.
Recall that the 49-year-old appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday in relation to alleged offences that include drug possession, possession of pipes or utensils, stealing, driving under the influence and failing to appear in court.
Additional allegations against Newbery involve driving without a licence, possessing property suspected of being connected to a drug offence, and unlawfully possessing a relevant substance.
She was remanded in custody and has not entered a plea to the latest allegations.
Newbery became a national sporting hero after securing Australia’s first Olympic diving gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games. Two years later, the Australian Institute of Sport named her its Best of the Best in recognition of her achievements.
However, her circumstances have deteriorated considerably since the peak of her sporting career. Her criminal record stretches back to 2014, with drugs featuring prominently among the offences recorded against her.
Court records indicate that Newbery has had at least one matter before the courts in every month since August 2024.
Newbery had left her Olympic medals at the office of her lawyer, Robert Burns, for safekeeping because she feared drug-addicted acquaintances could steal them, according to Daily Mail.
In 2023, only months after telling Toowoomba Magistrates Court that she had filled a wheelie bag with groceries from Woolworths because there was ‘no food or money’, Newbery appeared to be making efforts to rebuild her life.
At the time, she was living with her two-year-old niece in a granny flat behind a modest rental property in Brisbane’s outer western suburbs. Mr Burns told the Mail that Newbery ‘detests’ the circumstances she had become trapped in.
He said Newbery had been unable to develop the capacity to escape a drug-dependent lifestyle ‘that has become a normal existence for her’, although he remained convinced she could be rehabilitated.
‘It became evident that she wasn’t getting the support that she needed – she needed help, and she needed stability. She’s a good person with a heart of gold.
‘She’s a very intelligent and a very well-meaning person and she was in a cycle that she found hard to break free from.’
In a written reference submitted to the court in 2023, he wrote: ‘Chantelle was once at the pinnacle of celebrity, having achieved a gold medal in the Athens Olympics.’
‘I hold Chantelle’s medals and awards in my office to keep them safe as she was fearful drug associates would steal them.’
Earlier court documents reported by the Mail stated that Newbery consulted a GP about her mental health in December 2021, but ultimately decided the doctor could not assist her.
She was later removed from an addiction recovery program after failing to collect suboxone, a prescription medication used in the treatment of opioid addiction.
Newbery subsequently returned positive tests for methamphetamine, amphetamine and buprenorphine.
She has also repeatedly been accused of shoplifting from Queensland retailers, including an incident in which she allegedly concealed a stolen ice pipe inside her sunglasses case. She has spent time in jail for theft and drug-related offences dating back 12 years.
In 2014, Newbery appeared at Cleveland Magistrate’s Court over allegations involving possession of dangerous drugs and failing to dispose of a needle and syringe appropriately.
The following year, she faced Brisbane Magistrate’s Court over unauthorised dealing with shop goods, an offence that can involve consuming merchandise inside a store without payment or changing a price tag while in the store.
In 2016, she breached a domestic violence order and received a $600 fine. She also breached bail, committed burglary and unlawfully used a vehicle, according to court records.
Newbery made history as the first Australian diver in 80 years to win an Olympic medal when she claimed gold in the 10-metre platform event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Her Commonwealth Games record was also impressive, with two gold and three silver medals won at the 1998 and 2006 competitions.
She was subsequently awarded an OAM, but her personal difficulties intensified following her third Olympic appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games, where she was unable to reproduce her earlier success.
In 2009, Newbery told Woman’s Day magazine that she had admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital after experiencing chronic depression.
She also revealed that she had made two attempts to take her own life.
Newbery discussed her difficulties as a mother on A Current Affair in 2014, following the breakdown of her marriage to fellow diving champion Robert Newbery.
She has previously described her Athens gold medal as the greatest achievement of her life, while acknowledging how difficult it was to deal with the emotional impact that followed the Olympics.
‘A lot of athletes struggle after the Olympics,’ Newbery said.
“You’re working your whole life towards a goal and then whether you achieve that goal or you don’t, It comes to an end.
‘It’s a big change in your life and I think we all struggle with it.’
Newbery is due to return to court on September 17.
