Caroline started her athletics career with Crusaders AC, initially as a sprinter, earning her first senior international vest at age 15.

She set a National Senior 400m record of 53.24 in 1978 aged 17. Unfortunately injuries curtailed her competition for the following five years but, competing in the 800m in Cork City Sports in 1984 in her first serious 800m race, she broke the Irish record and qualified for the Los Angeles Olympic Games with a run of 2.00.70.

In the Games, Caroline, placed 2nd in her heat in 2.03.60 and 4th in her semi-final in 2.02.70 to become the first Irish woman to qualify for an Olympic Athletics track final.

In the final Caroline placed 8th in 2.00.78, just 8 hundredths of a second off her Irish record. In 1985, in her first Grand Prix race (now Diamond League) in Nice, she was accidently tripped and suffered a dislocation and fracture of her shoulder. Unfortunately, that was her last race as she subsequently suffered ongoing calf injuries which forced her to retire early.