PARIS — Amit Elor was quickly primping herself for her medal ceremony, slipping sweats over her wrestling singlet and then working her auburn hair into a ponytail with a red-white-and-blue tie. USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender held up his phone with the camera facing Elor so she could smooth out her eyebrows and fluff up her lashes. In just a couple of minutes, the U.S. wrestling sensation was podium-ready.
It’s not easy to get glam after the brutal, physical, occasionally nasty work of wrestling. Elor had just defeated Tokyo bronze medalist Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan 3–0 to win Olympic gold, her closest match of the competition but not one that was ever in doubt. That completed a stampede through the 68 kilogram bracket by a combined score of 31–2, and it ran her undefeated streak to 41 matches over five years.
That’s right. She hasn’t lost since 2019. Doesn't matter who she lines up against, Elor wins.
She was too young by a day to qualify for the Tokyo Games in 2021, but had already established herself as a powerhouse on the junior circuit. Since then she has won consecutive world senior championships. Sculpted, strong, quick and tactical, she’s been untouchable.
But even if Elor’s dominance has become predictable, that doesn’t lessen the emotional impact of winning a gold medal. When the match ended, she clasped her hands to her face and looked up into the crowd with an expression of shocked euphoria. She flexed an extremely defined left bicep as the referee held up her right hand signifying the victory, then was handed an American flag and skipped around the mat in sheer joy.
“I just looked up at the crowd and it was one of the best moments of my life,” said Elor, a California native who grew up in the Bay Area. “I think I'm going to remember it for my whole entire life. It was one of the best feelings in the world, and when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days, the grind, it's all worth it for moments like these.”
With the Olympic spotlight skewed toward gymnasts, swimmers, track athletes and basketball stars, many in the U.S. may just be learning about Elor and her success. But nobody on Team USA—not Katie Ledecky, not Simone Biles, not Noah Lyles—has distanced herself from her competition here like Elor.
And yet, she’s young enough to still be shocked that it’s all real.
“I'm still in disbelief,” she said. “Sorry to joke, but I think I have a little bit of imposter syndrome because I still feel like that little kid who just started wrestling, but currently I just became an Olympic champion.”
Women’s wrestling has only been an Olympic sport since 2004, and the U.S. had won just two gold medals in it before Tuesday night. This sport has traditionally been the province of tough competitors from Central Asia and the Far East. But the Americans could add more golds as the competition goes on here this week.
And Elor already has her eyes on leading a bigger haul in 2028.
“Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics because I am from California,” she said. “To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country but my state and to compete in my own state is incredible. And I have been excited for that ever since I heard about it.”
The youngest of six children is as American as everyone else born in the States, but also has familial ties to Israel. Her parents, Elana and Yair, immigrated from Israel to the U.S. in 1980 for college and stayed. Her name and fame resonates just as much (if not more) in Israel than her home country.
“I heard last night that almost the whole country was watching me and that it was on all the news networks, and I just can’t believe all the love I received,” she said. “I've always felt that to be a huge part of my identity, but especially after the tragedy on October 7th, it’s been horrifying…I feel the need to represent more than ever at this time. So I really hope that I can bring even just an ounce of joy to the people right now. And I hope that I made you all very proud.”
Elor assuredly took a moment Tuesday night to think of who wasn’t there—a brother who was killed in a home invasion, and her father who passed away in 2022. She had her own struggles with enjoying wrestling after some youth coaches were overly critical, but has come to flourish under her current coach, Sara McMann, an Olympic silver medalist herself who went on to a long mixed martial arts career.
“I've been through my highs and my lows,” Elor said. “Sarah’s a big reason for me being successful today and for just healing my relationship with wrestling, loving the journey, staying positive.”
By the time the journey gets to L.A. in ‘28, Elor could be in a starring role. She’s the most dominant U.S. Olympian most fans had never heard of in Paris, but that could change in four years.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as U.S. Wrestler Amit Elor Wins First Olympic Gold of Promising Career.
