PARIS — As she processed winning an Olympic gold medal, American wrestler Amit Elor still felt like that little girl just starting out in the sport.
Perhaps it’s because she’s not so far removed from that point.
Elor, just 20 years old, defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 on Tuesday in the 68-kilogram final at the Paris Games to become the youngest Olympic wrestling gold medalist in U.S. history.
“I’m still in disbelief,” she said. “I think I have a little bit of impostor syndrome.”
Elor’s dominance was very real to her opponents. She had a 31-2 advantage over four matches and was not scored upon in her final three contests.
She became the third American woman to win gold, following Helen Maroulis in 2016 and Tamyra Mensah-Stock in 2021. Women started wrestling at the Olympics in 2004.
After the win, she draped the U.S. flag over her back and skipped around the mat.
“It was one of the best moments in my life,” she said. “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,…
