Tayla Ford (Tainui) is set to become the first ever New Zealand woman to wrestle at the Olympic Games with her selection today to the New Zealand team for Paris 2024.
“It’s a dream come true and it still feels pretty surreal at the moment,” says Ford.
“I’ve always wanted to make the Olympics, and to become the first female wrestler from New Zealand to do so is pretty special.”
NZ Olympic Committee CEO Nicki Nicol says it’s a landmark moment for Ford and young New Zealand wrestlers.
“It’s fantastic to have our first ever female wrestler selected for the Olympic Games.
“I know a huge amount of work has gone in to get to this point and I’d like to congratulate Tayla for her perseverance, and for showing a generation of young New Zealand wrestlers what’s possible when you put your mind to it.”
Ford, 30, has been competing nationally and internationally since she was 16 years old.
Based in Adelaide, she has competed at three Commonwealth Games, winning bronze at both Glasgow 2014 and Birmingham 2022.
“Back in Glasgow, I made history as the first New Zealand woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal in wrestling. It’s always been a goal of mine to make history, it’s part of what motivates me so it’s pretty amazing.”
Ford secured qualification for Paris last month, winning her pool in the U68kg division at the Africa / Oceania qualifier in Egypt.
Ford’s dad was her inspiration to start wrestling. He’d heard that women’s wrestling had been added to the programme at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
“He wrestled in high school so he got back into it and I joined him. We had a mat in the garage where we’d train and we had a video tape of wrestling at the Sydney Olympics which we’d just play constantly while we were training.”
Born in Nelson and raised in Christchurch, Ford coaches up and coming wrestlers in Adelaide.
The Olympic wrestling is from August 5 to 11 at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Central Paris.