Imogen Ayris

Imogen Holly Ayris (born 12 December 2000) is a New Zealand athlete who competes in the pole vault. She won the bronze medal in the pole vault representing her country at the 2022 and 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Biography Ayris was born in Auckland on 12 December 2000, the daughter of Barny and Bridget Ayris. She was educated at Takapuna Grammar School, and studied exercise science at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2024.

Ayris began competing in athletics as a six-year-old at the Takapuna Athletic and Harrier Club, but also was a promising gymnast, representing New Zealand in an international event against Australia. In 2016, aged 15, she became the youngest female New Zealand athlete to clear four metres.

Ayris represented New Zealand in the pole vault at the 2018 IAAF World Under-20 Championships, finishing 19th, with a height of 3.95 m. The following year, she competed at the Athletics at the 2019 Summer Universiade, where she placed equal tenth in the pole vault, recording a height of 4.11 m. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Ayris cleared 4.45 m to win the bronze medal in the pole vault, despite competing with a fractured bone in her foot.

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Ayris cleared 4.50 metres but did not qualify for the final.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she placed twelfth overall, clearing a personal best 4.60 metres.

Ayris was a finalist at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2025, placing tenth overall with a clearance of 4.45 metres.

Ayris jumped a lifetime best of 4.70 metres whilst competing indoors in Caen, France, on 30 January 2026. In February, she improved to 4.76 metres at the All Star Perche, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The following month, Ayris shared the bronze medal with Angelica Moser and Amalie Svabikova at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland. In May, she finished runner-up with a clearance of 4.70 metres in the 2026 Diamond League meeting in Rabat. Three days later, on 3 June, she set a meeting record, and personal best, of 4.81 metres to win at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland.