Elor Advances to Olympic Semifinals

Olympic wrestling officially got underway on Monday morning from Paris and as luck would have it, both of the Americans who were in action took the mat in the very first matches of the tournament. 

In Greco-Roman at 130 kgs, former Michigan star Adam Coon took on the returning heavyweight world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran. For the first half of the opening stanza, the two battled for position and Coon held his own against the Iranian. However, Coon was called for passivity and put down in the ensuing par terre restart. From there, Mirzazadeh locked up a gut wrench and turned Coon for a commanding 3-0 lead. 

3-0 is how the first period ended and in the second it was Mirzazadeh who was hit for passivity and put down. Unfortunately, Coon was not able to capitalize on the advantage and the pair was sent back to their feet. Coon continued to fight for position but could not break through the stingy defense of the Iranian. The bout ended 3-1 in favor of Mirzazadeh. 

Amit Elor also started her tournament at 68 kg in women’s freestyle simultaneously and against a returning world champion in Turkiye’s Buse Tosun. From the opening whistle, Elor controlled the action with her two-on-one tie. That resulted in an early step-out point in Elor’s favor. She continued to apply pressure and backed Tosun out of bounds for a second step-out point and a 2-0 lead - early in the opening period. Later in the first, Elor was able to secure her first takedown to take a 4-0 lead. Not content, she shot Tosun off the mat with a double-leg attempt to lead 5-0 heading into the second period. 

In the second period, the official put Tosun on the activity clock as Elor continued to control the ties and the positional battle. Tosun did get to Elor’s leg at one point, but couldn’t secure a takedown and gave up a point for a shot clock violation. Elor remained on the offensive late in the second with another takedown, this time from an arm drag to lead 8-0. 

Late in the bout, the pair exchanged takedowns, so the final score read 10-2 in favor of the American. 

About an hour and a half later, Elor took the mat in the Olympic quarterfinals. Her opponent was Wiktoria Choluj of Poland - the same wrestler she defeated in the 2023 U23 World semifinals, 5-0. 

This meeting played out similarly to that one as it was all Elor. Elor patiently worked to secure the opening takedown after using her arm drag and never looked back. She added a step-out and another takedown to lead 5-0 after the opening three minutes. 

During the final three minutes, Elor continued to methodically dismantle Choluj. She added to her lead with a step-out point and a third takedown, to win 8-0. 

In this afternoon’s semifinals, Elor will meet North Korean Sol Gum Pak. Pak is an 18-year-old who is relatively unknown. She has not competed at a major international tournament prior to the Asian Olympic Qualifier. Gum Pak did post a win over 2021 world champion and three-time world medalist Irina Ringaci (Moldova) in the Round of 16. 

The semifinals will begin this afternoon at approximately 3pm (Eastern).

Coon was eliminated from medal contention after Mirzazadeh was defeated by the legendary Mijain Lopez (Cuba) in the quarterfinals. Lopez is two matches away from making Olympic history with his fifth gold medal in Greco-Roman. 

American Results

Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

Round of 16 - Amit Elor over Buse Tosun (Turkiye)  10-2

Quarterfinals - Amit Elor over Wiktoria Choluj (Poland)  8-0

Greco-Roman 130 kg

Round of 16 - Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) over Adam Coon  3-1