American Amit Elor, 20, won her first Olympic medal on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki/SJanickiPhoto.com)
Courtesy USA Wrestling
PARIS, France, August 6, 2024 – Amit Elor, the 20-year-old sensation from the United States in women’s freestyle wrestling, has won a gold medal at the Olympic in Paris at 68 kg (149.9 pounds) in women’s freestyle, becoming the youngest American wrestler of any gender or discipline to win Olympic gold.
Elor controlled 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in the finals on Tuesday night, 3-0. All of her points were scored in the first period, when Elor scored on a counter takedown, then added another point after Zhumanazarova was placed on the shot clock and did not score. In the second period, Elor continued to force the action, but no other points were scored.
Elor was dominant on Monday, beating 2023 world champion Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Turkey, 10-2, then shutout Wiktoria Choluj of Poland, 8-0 in the quarterfinals. Her semifinals win was a 10-0 technical fall over Sol Gum Pak of North Korea.
“I just looked up at the crowd and it was one of the best moments of my life,” Elor said. “I think I’m going to remember it for my whole entire life. It’s one of the best feelings in the world and when I experienced something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days, the grind, it’s all for moments like these.”
Elor entered her first Olympics after winning Senior world championship at 72 kg (158.7). Her 2022 world title made her the youngest U.S. Senior world champion in any style or gender at 18 years old. She has now become the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestling champion, at age 20, younger than the then 20-year-old Kyle Snyder when he won a 2016 Olympic gold medal at 97 kg in men’s freestyle in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Elor had to drop nine pounds to compete at 68 kg since there is competition in just six weight classes at the Olympics compared to 10 at the world championships.
Elor has never lost a match on the Senior level since her debut in the 2022 season. Her Senior career record is 28-0, and she has amassed an 83-match win streak when considering all age-group competition. Her last loss was at the 2019 U17 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she won a bronze medal and lost to Honaka Nakai of Japan in the semifinals, 3-1.
Elor has won eight UWW world titles in her career, including three at the U20 level, two at the U23 level and one at the U17 level.
A native of Walnut Creek, Calif., Elor won a California state girls high school title as a freshman for College Park High School, then turned her focus entirely on the international wrestling style, freestyle.
Also on Tuesday, Sarah Hildebrandt. who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in Toyko, earned a spot in the finals at 50 kilograms (110 pounds)
Hildebrandt defeated Otgonjargal Dolgorjav of Mongolia, 5-0, avenging a loss to Dolgorjav in the semifinals of the 2023 world Championships.
Hildebrandt controlled the action throughout the batch. Hildebrandt scored all of her points in the first period, getting two takedowns and another point on a caution and penalty against Dolgorjav. In the second period, Hildebrandt kept up a strong pace, and displayed some tremendous defense as needed.
Hildebrandt will battle Vinesh of India in the gold-medal finals. Vinesh knocked off the No. 1 seed, Olympic and world champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the opening round, and powered through two other opponents to become the first woman from India to reach an Olympic wrestling final.
Hildebrandt, the No. 6 seed, opened with an impressive 10-0 technical fall over four-time African bronze medalist Ibtissem Doudou of Algeria in her opening match. In the quarterfinals, Hildebrandt was in command in a 7-4 victory over 2023 World bronze medalist Ziqi Feng of China.
When Mohammadhadi Saravi of Iran reached the 97 kg finals in Greco Roman, American Joe Rau was pulled back into repechage on Wednesday morning.
Saravi beat Rau in the first round, and only those who lose to a finalist can wrestle back for a bronze. Rau will face Uzur Dzhuzupbekov of Kyrgyzstan in repechage. If Rau wins that repechage match, he will compete in a bronze-medal bout Wednesday night.
The other U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler who competed on Tuesday, Kamal Bey at 77 kg, was not eligible for repechage after losing a close opening match to two-time world champion Akzhol Makhmudov of Kyrgyzstan. Makhmudov was beaten in the quarterfinals, eliminating Bey.
Also on Tuesday, Mijian Lopez of Cuba becomes the first athlete from any sport in history to win a gold medal in the same discipline in five consecutive Olympic Games. He won the 130 kg Greco-Roman gold medal, defeating Yasmani Acosta of Chile, 6-0. After celebrating, at age 41, Lopez put his shoes on the mat, to signify his retirement. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was in attendance for Lopez’ historic achievement.
Courtesy USA Wrestling
