Sarah Hildebrandt captures first wrestling gold medal at 2024 Paris Olympics

Sarah Hildebrandt became the second US woman to capture Olympic wrestling gold Wednesday with her victory in the 50 KG finals.

Hildebrandt defeated Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) 3-0 to capture her first gold medal at the Olympics in freestyle wrestling. Guzman replaced India’s Vinesh after the latter failed to make weight Wednesday morning and was eliminated from the tournament.

But Hildebrandt didn’t let the change of opponent affect her focus as she captured the gold following a Bronze medal at the 2020 games.

Coming into the finals, Hildebrandt won three matches in the bracket. She defeated Ibtissem Doudou of Algeria via technical superiority 10-0.

In the quarterfinals, Hildebrandt defeated China’s Ziqi Feng 7-4 to advance to Tuesday night’s semifinals. There, Hildebrandt shutout Otgonjarga Dolgorjav (Mongolia) 5-0 to advance to the finals.

Hildebrandt, 30, is a seven-time gold medalist at the Pan American Games and a four-time World Medalist. However, she only captured silver (2018 at 53 KG and ‘21 at 50 KG) and Bronze (2022 and ‘23 at 50 KG) in the World Championships.

Amit Elor, Sarah Hildebrandt capture gold medal

Amit Elor became the youngest American to win a Gold Medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 20-year-old phenom defeated Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) in the finals Tuesday at 68 KG by a score of 3-0. Elor came in with a lot of hype considering she never lost a senior international wrestling match.

Elor was nearly speechless after winning gold when speaking on the Peacock broadcast.

“I just couldn’t believe that I became a champion,” Elor said after her match. “I mean, that was just like five minutes ago. I cannot believe I am the Olympia Champion. This has been my dream for my whole entire life. I just can’t comprehend it. It’s hard to believe …

“It’s such a full circle moment. Wrestling, in my opinion is one of the hardest if not the hardest sports out there. And so it takes very unique people able to wrestle. And so for me, you know, the past few months, especially after I made the Olympic team, I’ve received so many messages, especially from younger girls out there telling me their inspiration. It’s just hard to believe because it feels like just yesterday that was one of them looking up to our veterans and our legends of the sport.”