Across a span of 48 hours and four opponents at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA's Amit Elor didn't just demonstrate she's the new face of American wrestling. By Tuesday evening, the 68kg/149lbs star proved she was all gold in the City of Light.
The 20-year-old Elor, a California native, had no trouble with Kyrgyzstan's Meerim Zhumanazarova in their gold medal catch. She won 3-0 against the two-time Olympic wrestling medalist (2024 Paris silver, 2020 Tokyo bronze).
In an absurd fact, Elor surrendered all of two points during her entire gold medal campaign. Cumulative score: 31-2.
With her triumph, Elor became the youngest American to ever win wrestling gold at the Olympics; born Jan. 1, 2004, she was deemed one day too old to be eligible for the 2020 Tokyo Games, which took place in 2021. Instead, an unfazed Elor earned wrestling world championship gold in the 72kg division in 2022 — and again in 2023.
It was clear from the moment Elor took to the mat Monday morning that she would be, if nothing else, a force to be reckoned with. Her opening match — against top-seeded Buse Tosun of Turkiye — wasn't so much an "upset" as a "shutdown."
About an hour later, she swatted away Poland's Wiktoria Choluj in a lopsided quarterfinal.
The wrestling prodigy then won her Monday evening Paris Olympic semifinal against North Korea's Sum Pak in less than two minutes.
Officials ruled she won by "technical superiority," which seems like an appropriate phrase.
"It was one of the best moments in my life," Elor said shortly after her victory. "I think I'm going to remember it for my entire life. It's 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."