Richard Ian Charlesworth AO (born 6 February 1952) is an Australian sports coach and former politician.

After leaving politics, he was appointed coach of the Hockeyroos (the national women's field hockey team), leading them to Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000.

Born in Subiaco, Western Australia,[2] Charlesworth attended Christ Church Grammar School[2] until he graduated in 1969.

In 1976, he completed a medical degree (MB, BS) from the University of Western Australia School of Medicine.

In 1980, while playing for The University of Western Australia Mens Hockey Club, Charlesworth also won the Olympian's Medal, an annual award presented to the player judged by umpires to be the fairest and best in men's first division competition in Western Australia.

During this time they won the Champion's Trophy in 1993 (Amsterdam), 1995 (Mar del Plata), 1997 (Berlin) and 1999 (Brisbane), the World Hockey Cup in 1994 (Dublin) and 1998 (Netherlands) and were gold medallists in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and Sydney Olympics in 2000 and 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

[6] In 2009, Charlesworth was appointed coach of the Australian men's national hockey team, the Kookaburras.