| Tayla Ford | |
| Fullname: | Tayla Ford |
| Nationality: | New Zealand |
| Birth Date: | 2 July 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Nelson, New Zealand[1] |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Sport: | Wrestling |
| Event: | Women's Wrestling (FW/LF) 58 kg |
| Updated: | 6 August 2022 |
Tayla Ford (born 2 July 1993) is a New Zealand freestyle wrestler.[2] She has competed in three Commonwealth Games, winning two bronze medals. She was the first New Zealand woman to win a Commonwealth Games medal in wrestling. In April 2024, Ford was selected for the New Zealand wrestling team for the 2024 Summer Olympics, becoming the first New Zealand woman on an Olympic wrestling team.[3]
Ford is of Waikato Tainui descent.[4] She was born in Nelson and moved with her family to Christchurch in 2000. She began wrestling when she was 16 years old after being inspired by her father, who had wrestled in high school.
She completed in the women's freestyle 58 kg[5] event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she won the bronze medal.[6] Ford also won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In April 2024, Ford won her pool in the under-68 kg division at the Africa / Oceania qualifier in Egypt, thus securing qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games. She competed in the women's 68kg event at the Olympics.[7]
Ford lives in Adelaide, Australis, where she coaches wrestling. She also competes in jujutsu, and in 2022 won bronze at the Asia-Oceania regional competition.[8]