Tyla McDonald

Tyla McDonald only came to boxing to help her stay in shape for netball, but the combat sport soon became the main game.

Growing up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Tyla played high-level netball as a teenager and was encouraged to try boxing to improve her fitness, strength and footwork.

What started as a workout soon became a passion and in 2015 Tyla decided to commit herself to the new sport and began training at Peninsula Boxing with coach Marcos Amado.

She won 22 of her first 30 fights, claiming four Victorian titles and winning four Australian championships.

Boxing Australia identified Tayla as an emerging talent and in 2022 she was awarded a Tier 3 scholarship within the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.

She booked her ticket to the Paris Olympics when she secured a quota place with a gold medal at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Fighting in the 60kg division, Tayla had too much power and accuracy for New Zealand’s Erin Walsh.

“Still so crazy to think that I’ve actually qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics,” she said. “What a year it’s been!”

At the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women’s -60kg preliminary round of 16, the then 21-year-old lost to Maria Jose Palacios Espin (ECU).

"To be honest that whole moment just got to me. It's my first Olympics and I've never been so nervous so it was a lot," Tyla said.

"But no excuses, I didn't do what I needed to do, so that's on me. I Absolutely want to come back bigger, better and stronger."

Tayla’s ultimate ambition is to become a police officer and work with troubled teenagers.