Paris Olympics: Amit Elor, Team USA’s wrestling phenom, wins historic gold

Historic Gold for Amit Elor: Team USA's Wrestling Star Shines at Paris Olympics

Henry August 6, 2024

0 7 minutes read

Amit Elor in action during her gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, showing her dynamic wrestling skills — Amit Elor celebrates winning gold in women's 68kg wrestling at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the medal around her neck

PARIS — Amit Elor, a 20-year-old wrestling prodigy from California, made Olympic history at the 2024 Paris Games on Tuesday. Elor clinched gold in the 68-kilogram weight class, defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 in the final at Arena Champ-de-Mars.

Elor scored early with a takedown in the first period and added another point after Zhumanazarova was penalized. She dominated the second period, denying Zhumanazarova any scoring opportunities to secure the win.

This victory made Elor the youngest American wrestler ever to win an Olympic gold medal.

20-Year-Old Amit Elor Makes History with Gold in Women’s 68kg Wrestling!

Elor stands out as one of the most remarkable athletes among Team USA’s 592 competitors. She advanced to the final with an impressive aggregate score of 28-2. Despite moving down from her usual 72-kg weight class, which isn’t featured in the Olympics, Elor overwhelmed reigning world champion Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu of Turkey with a 10-2 victory.

Elor’s coach, Sara McMann, expressed surprise that anyone managed to score against her, given her commanding performance throughout the tournament.

In the semifinals, Elor swiftly defeated North Korea’s Sol Gum Pak, winning with a takedown and four consecutive turns in just 27 seconds, leading to a “victory by technical superiority.”

Born on January 1, 2004, Elor narrowly missed the Tokyo Games due to age restrictions. Raised in a family with a strong athletic background, including football and wrestling, she was initially encouraged towards more traditional female sports but chose wrestling. Her early experiences were challenging, often competing against boys, and she faced tough coaching that shaped her resilient mindset.

Despite facing personal tragedies, including the loss of a brother and her father, Elor’s determination only strengthened. She has remained undefeated in her last 37 international matches and adapted to a new weight class for the Olympics with remarkable ease.

Elor’s journey to gold was marked by rigorous preparation and a positive outlook, supported by her family and coach. Her performance at the Olympics was a testament to her focus and fighting spirit, culminating in a gold medal and a place in wrestling history.

Medal Race

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	24	31	31	86
2	China	22	21	16	59
3	France	13	16	19	48
4	Great Britain	12	15	19	46
5	Australia	14	12	9	35
6	Japan	11	6	12	29
7	Republic of Korea	11	8	7	26
8	Italy	9	10	7	26
9	Netherlands	8	5	6	19
10	Canada	6	4	8	18
11	Germany	8	5	4	17
12	Brazil	2	5	6	13
13	New Zealand	3	5	1	9
14	Spain	1	3	5	9
15	Hungary	3	3	2	8
15	Sweden	3	3	2	8
17	Ireland	4	0	3	7
18	Romania	3	3	1	7
19	Ukraine	2	2	3	7
20	Switzerland	1	2	4	7
21	Greece	1	1	5	7
22	Israel	1	4	1	6
23	Croatia	2	1	2	5
24	Belgium	2	0	3	5
25	Kazakhstan	1	1	3	5
26	Chinese Taipei	1	0	4	5
27	DPR Korea	0	2	3	5
28	Hong Kong	2	0	2	4
29	Georgia	1	2	1	4
30	Kenya	1	1	2	4
30	South Africa	1	1	2	4
32	Jamaica	0	3	1	4
33	Poland	0	1	3	4
34	Philippines	2	0	1	3
35	Uzbekistan	1	0	2	3
36	Mexico	0	2	1	3
37	Turkey	0	1	2	3
38	India	0	0	3	3
38	Tajikistan	0	0	3	3
40	Azerbaijan	2	0	0	2
40	Serbia	2	0	0	2
42	Chile	1	1	0	2
42	Denmark	1	1	0	2
42	Saint Lucia	1	1	0	2
42	Uganda	1	1	0	2
46	Cuba	1	0	1	2
46	Czech Republic	1	0	1	2
46	Guatemala	1	0	1	2
49	Ethiopia	0	2	0	2
50	Kosovo	0	1	1	2
50	Kyrgyzstan	0	1	1	2
50	Thailand	0	1	1	2
53	Dominican Republic	0	0	2	2
53	Lithuania	0	0	2	2
53	Malaysia	0	0	2	2
53	Moldova	0	0	2	2
57	Algeria	1	0	0	1
57	Argentina	1	0	0	1
57	Bahrain	1	0	0	1
57	Dominica	1	0	0	1
57	Ecuador	1	0	0	1
57	Norway	1	0	0	1
57	Slovenia	1	0	0	1
64	Armenia	0	1	0	1
64	Colombia	0	1	0	1
64	Fiji	0	1	0	1
64	Mongolia	0	1	0	1
64	Tunisia	0	1	0	1
69	Austria	0	0	1	1
69	Cape Verde	0	0	1	1
69	Egypt	0	0	1	1
69	Grenada	0	0	1	1
69	Indonesia	0	0	1	1
69	Iran	0	0	1	1
69	Portugal	0	0	1	1
69	Slovakia	0	0	1	1
77	Afghanistan	0	0	0	0
77	Albania	0	0	0	0
77	American Samoa	0	0	0	0
77	Andorra	0	0	0	0
77	Angola	0	0	0	0
77	Antigua and Barbuda	0	0	0	0
77	Aruba	0	0	0	0
77	Bahamas	0	0	0	0
77	Bangladesh	0	0	0	0
77	Barbados	0	0	0	0
77	Belize	0	0	0	0
77	Benin	0	0	0	0
77	Bermuda	0	0	0	0
77	Bhutan	0	0	0	0
77	Bolivia	0	0	0	0
77	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0	0	0	0
77	Botswana	0	0	0	0
77	British Virgin Islands	0	0	0	0
77	Brunei	0	0	0	0
77	Bulgaria	0	0	0	0
77	Burkina Faso	0	0	0	0
77	Burundi	0	0	0	0
77	Cambodia	0	0	0	0
77	Cameroon	0	0	0	0
77	Cayman Islands	0	0	0	0
77	Central African Republic	0	0	0	0
77	Chad	0	0	0	0
77	Comoros	0	0	0	0
77	Congo	0	0	0	0
77	Cook Islands	0	0	0	0
77	Costa Rica	0	0	0	0
77	Cyprus	0	0	0	0
77	Djibouti	0	0	0	0
77	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0	0	0	0
77	El Salvador	0	0	0	0
77	Equatorial Guinea	0	0	0	0
77	Eritrea	0	0	0	0
77	Estonia	0	0	0	0
77	Micronesia	0	0	0	0
77	Finland	0	0	0	0
77	Gabon	0	0	0	0
77	Gambia	0	0	0	0
77	Ghana	0	0	0	0
77	Guam	0	0	0	0
77	Guinea	0	0	0	0
77	Guinea-Bissau	0	0	0	0
77	Guyana	0	0	0	0
77	Haiti	0	0	0	0
77	Honduras	0	0	0	0
77	Iceland	0	0	0	0
77	Individual Neutral Athletes	0	0	0	0
77	Iraq	0	0	0	0
77	Cote d’Ivoire	0	0	0	0
77	Jordan	0	0	0	0
77	Kiribati	0	0	0	0
77	Kuwait	0	0	0	0
77	Laos	0	0	0	0
77	Latvia	0	0	0	0
77	Lebanon	0	0	0	0
77	Lesotho	0	0	0	0
77	Liberia	0	0	0	0
77	Libya	0	0	0	0
77	Liechtenstein	0	0	0	0
77	Luxembourg	0	0	0	0
77	Madagascar	0	0	0	0
77	Malawi	0	0	0	0
77	Maldives	0	0	0	0
77	Mali	0	0	0	0
77	Malta	0	0	0	0
77	Marshall Islands	0	0	0	0
77	Mauritania	0	0	0	0
77	Mauritius	0	0	0	0
77	Monaco	0	0	0	0
77	Montenegro	0	0	0	0
77	Morocco	0	0	0	0
77	Mozambique	0	0	0	0
77	Myanmar	0	0	0	0
77	Namibia	0	0	0	0
77	Nepal	0	0	0	0
77	Nicaragua	0	0	0	0
77	Niger	0	0	0	0
77	Nigeria	0	0	0	0
77	Macedonia	0	0	0	0
77	Oman	0	0	0	0
77	Pakistan	0	0	0	0
77	Palestine	0	0	0	0
77	Panama	0	0	0	0
77	Papua New Guinea	0	0	0	0
77	Paraguay	0	0	0	0
77	Peru	0	0	0	0
77	Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0
77	Qatar	0	0	0	0
77	Nauru	0	0	0	0
77	Palau	0	0	0	0
77	Rwanda	0	0	0	0
77	Samoa	0	0	0	0
77	San Marino	0	0	0	0
77	Sao Tome and Principe	0	0	0	0
77	Saudi Arabia	0	0	0	0
77	Senegal	0	0	0	0
77	Seychelles	0	0	0	0
77	Sierra Leone	0	0	0	0
77	Singapore	0	0	0	0
77	Solomon Islands	0	0	0	0
77	Somalia	0	0	0	0
77	South Sudan	0	0	0	0
77	Sri Lanka	0	0	0	0
77	St. Kitts and Nevis	0	0	0	0
77	St. Vincent and Grenadines	0	0	0	0
77	Sudan	0	0	0	0
77	Suriname	0	0	0	0
77	Swaziland	0	0	0	0
77	Syria	0	0	0	0
77	Tanzania	0	0	0	0
77	Timor-Leste	0	0	0	0
77	Togo	0	0	0	0
77	Tonga	0	0	0	0
77	Trinidad and Tobago	0	0	0	0
77	Turkmenistan	0	0	0	0
77	Tuvalu	0	0	0	0
77	U.S. Virgin Islands	0	0	0	0
77	United Arab Emirates	0	0	0	0
77	Uruguay	0	0	0	0
77	Vanuatu	0	0	0	0
77	Venezuela	0	0	0	0
77	Vietnam	0	0	0	0
77	Yemen	0	0	0	0
77	Zambia	0	0	0	0
77	Zimbabwe	0	0	0	0