Isla, 11, is well worth her weight in gold | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

Rotorua's Isla Norman-Bell has a lot of weight on her shoulders but it's not weighing her down.

The 11-year-old won two golds, two silvers and a bronze medal at the annual Colgate Games in Tauranga.

Only six months ago Isla had an operation to correct a condition which saw the plucky youngster have one leg 4cm longer than the other.

Isla was one of 46 athletes from the Lake City Athletic Club who took part in the games.

The annual North Island Colgate Games are for children aged 7-14 years and offer a range of track and field events. It is the largest athletics event in New Zealand.

From the 46 competitors, 15 medals were won in the 10-to-14-year age groups and 24 pennants in the 7-to-9-year age groups. Isla came home with the most medals.

Medals also went to Paige Satchel for silver in 1500m and gold in 800m, Marina Tahana-Beazley for silver in shotput and silver in long jump, MacKenzie Van Fulpen for gold in high jump, Brooklyn Tomo for bronze in discus, and Sasha Pue for silver in the 2000m walk.

The 12-year-old girls 4x100 relay team of Monica Pue, Melkorka Leggett Himlarsdottir and Isla earned a bronze medal.

Isla's mum, Astrid Norman, said they didn't know what to expect from the games and her daughter's goal beforehand was simply to reach the semifinals in her best event, the 200m sprint.

"I was sort of worried when I saw all those other fit-looking athletes. But having the other kids from Lake City made me feel better."

Isla said she was proud of her performance, especially in her 200m heat.

"I went hard out and didn't look back, so I didn't know where the others were.

"I was really happy with my personal best time."

In her 200m final, Isla was so dominant she even had time to glance around, before cruising to the finish first in 28.09 seconds, nearly a second ahead of Greerton's Felila Simanu in 28.99.

Since the games Isla has now been enjoying the rest of her holiday. "I've been playing Wii and scootering."

The youngster said she would be back next year aiming for a better placing in the long jump.

Her goals for the rest of this year include the WaiBOP champs in March and the touch rugby nationals in Rotorua on February 11 and 12.