Former Australian gold medallist Chantelle Newbery sentenced to prison

Former Australian diving gold medallist Chantelle Newbery has been sentenced to three months in prison on stealing charges.

Newbery claimed gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 10m platform event, becoming the first Australian to win a diving Olympic gold in more than 80 years.

In recent years the Olympic champion has found herself on the wrong side of the law with a string of offences sparked by a 2014 police raid on her home that uncovered methamphetamines and used syringes.

On Thursday Newbery pleaded guilty to six counts of stealing, two counts of failure to appear and one count of contravening direction or requirement of police, the ABC reported.

The charges stem from September 26 when Newbery was caught stealing from several stores with the items stolen worth more than $1000.

The 45-year-old was handed a suspended three-month sentence and will report to Toowoomba Police Station weekly to satisfy her parole requirements.

Newbery’s lawyer Robert Burns told Toowoomba Magistrate’s Court of the Olympians tragic slip “from the very top of the world to the very bottom” in a “meteoric fall from grace”.

Magistrate Viviana Keegan refused Newbery bail stating that she “should not be treated any differently from the general public” and that “her long criminal history shows a complete and utter disregard for conditions.”

In 2014, Newbery shed light on her battle with drugs and mental health in an interview with A Current Affair.

“I have experimented with a couple of things but I wouldn’t say I was a drug user,” Newbery said.

“On and off, perhaps every now and then, but there has been no period of time when I have been using drugs or anything like it."