Olympics a ‘dream come true’

• Published date: 12 April 2024
• Publication title: Sports Tab

The Adelaide-based 30-year-old will cap 20 years in the sport, which has previously taken her to three Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze models at both Glasgow 2014 and Birmingham 2022

‘‘It’s a dream come true and it still feels pretty surreal at the moment,’’ Ford said.

‘‘I’ve always wanted to make the Olympics, and to become the first female wrestler from New Zealand to do so is pretty special.

‘‘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 her Olympic qualification last month, winning her pool in the under-68kg division at the Africa-Oceania qualifying event in Egypt.

She began wrestling when her father heard that women’s wrestling had been added to the sport programme at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

‘‘He wrestled in high school so he got back into it and I joined him,’’ she said.

‘‘We had a mat in the garage where we’d train and we had a videotape of wrestling at the Sydney...