Amit Elor one win away from historic Olympic wrestling gold medal
PARIS, FRANCE (August 5, 2024) — Five years removed from wrestling for and winning a California state high school championship as a freshman, former College Park High wrestler Amit Elor will take to the mat Tuesday in Paris seeking an Olympic gold medal in the Champ-de-Mars Arena.
Should she defeat 24-year-old Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan Tuesday evening Paris time in the final wrestling match of the day Elor, who lives with her family in Walnut Creek, will be the youngest American wrestling gold medalist ever, male or female.
Competing in her first Olympic Games, 20-year-old Elor was unseeded at the weight class, because she previously competed at 72 kg and did not earn any seeding points at this weight class. In typical Elor fashion, she surrendered only one point in three matches Monday.
She opened Monday with an impressive 10-2 decision over No. 1 seed and 2023 World champion Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Turkey. Elor scored a takedown and three step outs for a 5-0 lead at the break. In the second period, she continued to control the action, scoring two takedowns and receiving a shot clock point. Tosun could only muster one takedown with 15 seconds on the clock.
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In the quarterfinals, Elor was again dominant, shutting out Wiktoria Choluj of Poland, 8-0. Elor took a 5-0 lead at the break with two takedowns and a step out. In the second period, Elor added a shot clock point, then a final takedown for the victory.
Elor blanked unheralded Sol Gum Pak of North Korea in the semifinals on a 10-0 technical superiority in the first period. Pak won a crazy 10-8 quarterfinal decision over Nisha Dahiya of India, 10-8. Nisha led 8-1 going into the final minute, but an arm injury greatly hampered her. After taking multiple injury breaks, Nisha was unable to defend Pak’s attacks in the closing seconds. Pak has never competed in any World Championships (Senior or age group) in the past.
Elor came into the Olympics with a pair of Senior World gold medals at 72 kg. Her 2022 World title made her the youngest U.S. Senior World champion in any style or gender. She 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.
Elor missed her chance to take part in the 2020 United States Olympic Trials by a day. She was born Jan. 1, 2004, one day after the cutoff to meet the minimum age requirement to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, which were not held until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was in the winter of 2019 as a freshman at College Park High she easily won the California state wrestling championship, winning all 36 of her matches. In the 150-pound weight class she pinned her nine North Coast Section and State Meet opponents with her two championship matches ending in 15 and 20 seconds, respectively.
Her older sister Ronny had won an unofficial state championship for College Park about a decade earlier before female high school wrestling was fully sanctioned and organized by CIF. When she was just three- or four-years old Amit loved to tag along to her teenage brother Orry’s wrestling matches. He competed for three years on the College Park wrestling team, placing eighth and third in the CIF State Meet as a heavyweight.
Any disappointment Elor felt on missing out on Tokyo has been taken out on her opponents as she won eight world championships from 2021-23 including senior worlds the last two years while she was still eligible to compete in U20 and U23 divisions. While winning those gold medals Elor had a 29-0 record with 17 technical falls, seven pins and outscored her 29 opponents 251-9.
Elor is competing at 68 kilograms in Paris, nearly nine pounds lighter than her regular 72kg weight class. Her punishing style utilizes a two-on-one and an underhook to win matches.
USA Wrestling provided Olympic match results.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.