Isla Blake

Isla Blake started her rowing journey in the mighty Waikato where she attended rowed for Hamilton Rowing Club. Isla was also an exceptional cross-country athlete where she was her schools intermediate and overall champ in Cross country in 2015 then went onto compete at the Senior Champs in 2016.

After school she progressed into the Waikato Regional Performance center where she excelled across both disciplines – sweeping and sculling. In 2016 she competed for in the North Island U18 team in the sweep events. Isla gained bronze in U22 pair, Silver in U22 double and Silver in Open eight at North Island Club champs in 2017. She then went on to gain bronze at the 2017 New Zealand Rowing national champs in the U22 four.

Isla then found herself in America rowing for University of San Diago after seeing how happy her friend, and previous pair partner, was at the University. She completed her university study majoring in Environmental Studies alongside her rowing. In her freshman year she stroked the Varsity Eight to third place at the WCC Championships and the following season took first place at the San Diego Fall Classic in the Varsity Eight. Isla has competed in a few major international regattas; one being the Head of the Charles, held in Boston.

Since being back in New Zealand she was woman the woman’s premier four at the National Championships multiple times and was been a strong athlete in all woman’s sweep events. These performances impressed selectors and she was invited into the 2023-2024 Summer Squad. After battling with Covid during the trial period she found herself in the Performance Hub training under Dick Tonks with Pair partner Juliette Lequex. She had an exceptional season where her and Juliette won Christmas regatta and the North island Championships. She then raced with Olympian Alana Sherman to gain another red coat and the title of the Woman’s Premier pair.

She has now earned selection in the Women’s Four for the 2025 World Cups, her first time on the Elite team, and made an immediate impact, powering the crew to fourth at World Cup I and a bronze medal at World Cup II. This was an outstanding achievement for the Women’s Four, and their international success throughout the 2025 season has secured the combination’s re-selection for the Elite World Championships in Shanghai. Isla was the three seat in the Women’s Four and helped power her crew to a podium finish where the crew won the Bronze Medal at the World Championships. Isla also made history by being part of the Bronze medal winning New Zealand Mixed Eight which was raced at the regatta for the first time ever.

Isla then returned back to the New Zealand Summer Squad where she had a successful domestic 2025-2026 domestic racing season. She won Gold in both the Women’s Pair and Women’s Four at the National Rowing Championships making her a two time National champion for 2026. Isla impressed selectors at the Elite World Cup Trial and was successfully selected into the Women’s four. The Women’s Four had a very successful World Cup series where they won a bronze medal at World Cup I  in Seville, Spain and a silver medal at World Cup II in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. At the World Championship team confirmation trial the Women’s four was reselected and remained unchanged from the World Cup series crew. Isla has also been selected into the Women’s Eight that will race for the first time since Tokyo Olympics at the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam.

Outside of rowing you will see Isla enjoying photography, art and thrift shopping. Isla is passionate about sustainability and spends her time off water volunteering with GoEco creating content for a campaign against consumerism/fast fashion (@DerailConsumerism). She is also known in the team as being an excellent Barista, having worked in the coffee hotspots in Cambridge.