Dominating First-Period Tech Pushes Elor to Olympic Finals

After a pair of dominating wins, two-time world champion Amit Elor appeared to be in for the biggest test of her maiden Olympic journey. Elor was tasked with an 18-year-old opponent from North Korea in Sol Gum Pak in the 68 kg semifinals. Pak posted ten points in each of her first two bouts - a win over 2021 world champion Irina Ringaci (Moldova) and a comeback against another young sensation Nisha Dahiya (India). 

That challenge never materialized as Elor only needed 1:44 seconds to post a stunning 10-0 tech. The bout started as most of Elor’s do - with her controlling the center of the mat and dominating the ties. Those little battles tilted so strongly in Elor’s favor that Pak was warned for passivity within the first minute. 

After a restart, Elor continued tying Pak up, snapped the North Korean down, and spun for a takedown. Not content with a two-point advantage, Elor locked up a leg lace. Following one turn, Elor had to readjust and then three more followed. 

The Turkish official blew his whistle and stopped the action signifying the end of the bout. If you turned away from the screen, you might have missed Elor’s whirlwind of action. 

With her win, Elor became only the fifth American woman to make an Olympic final. Of course, she has her sights set on a gold medal and gold alone. Elor also has the opportunity to become the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold. 

Standing between Elor and an Olympic gold medal is Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova. Zhumanazarova held off a late takedown attempt from 2020 Olympic silver medalist Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) to win 3-1 and advance in the other semifinal. 

Zhumanazarova was an Olympic bronze medalist at this weight in 2020 and was a world champion in 2021.