Portrait shot of Isla Tilbury

Isla Tilbury

Athletics

  1. Grantee | April 2024

It was at the age of 9, when she broke the Tasman 400m record, that Isla realised she may have a future in athletics. Since then she has broken, and still holds, Marlborough records in the 400m, 800m and High Jump, aged 13. At the National Inter-Provincial games she was named first overall athlete for girls. Isla’s coach is based in Nelson so to train with others she must travel to Nelson. This means a lot of her training is done on her own which requires huge discipline. Her commitment and determination have been rewarded by her selection to the NZ U18 team to compete in the Oceania games in Fiji this year (an amazing achievement given that she is only 15 years old). In the next 5 years Isla would love to represent NZ at the World Junior Track and Field Championships and the Commonwealth Games in 2030.