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Olympic champion Amit Elor brings historic gold home to Bay Area
20-year-old Amit Elor is the youngest US wrestler to win gold at the Olympics.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - An Olympic champion in wrestling has made her way home to the Bay Area.
Amit Elor, 20, made history when she won gold in women's freestyle in Paris, making her the youngest U.S. wrestler to ever do it.
"I'm getting chills just thinking back to it," Elor said, 48 hours after returning to the East Bay.
The wrestling powerhouse and Walnut Creek native is used to winning.
The two-time world champion hasn't lost a single senior-level match in five years. But claiming gold at the Olympics is still hard for her to process.
"To me it felt just like a wrestling competition – part of that is coping with it, so you don't let the pressure of the Olympics get to you," Elor said. "But then when I got up to that podium and I had this heavy medal around my neck and held it in my hands, I just started crying."
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Elor began wrestling at the age of 4, after watching her older brother take up the sport. She started strength training at Forma Gym in Walnut Creek at 10 years old.
"It's taken my whole life's work - everything from the very beginning when I first started wrestling, my work ethic, the sacrifices I've made over the years," she added.
Being a young female wrestler wasn't popular.
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Walnut Creek's Amit Elor wins Olymipic gold for wrestling
Amit Elor, 20, of Walnut Creek won Olympic gold for wrestling.
"Growing up, I was embarrassed to tell people I wrestled," she said. "I think that's just awful. I think wrestling is something you should be extremely proud of because it's one of the most difficult sports out there. I hope that if little girls are watching me, they can think, wow it's so cool that I wrestle."
Back at home, she's savoring some of her favorite memories from Paris, as she sets her sights on the 2028 Olympics in LA.
You can bet she would go in with the same mindset.
"On the day of the competition, I just had to keep telling myself, that I can do it, and that I'm capable of it, and not only that, but I had to say to myself, you deserve this," she said. Adding, "One thing that my strength coach here told me is 'you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be good enough.'"
Her strength coach at Forma Gym, David Miller, was able to make the trip to Paris to witness her win gold. She said it was truly an unforgettable moment she will treasure forever.