Following the amazing victory by Jewish American wrestler Amit Elor, 20, she expressed solidarity with the State of Israel and its people after the October 7 massacre by displaying a yellow ribbon pin in support of the hostages and talking about her connection to the Israeli people.
Although she represents the U.S., quite a few Israeli spectators eagerly followed Elor's wrestling final on Tuesday evening. The 20-year-old Jewish-American wrestler won a gold medal in Paris in her first Olympic Games, after a 0:3 victory against Meerim Zhumanazarova from Kyrgyzstan in the -68 kg weight category. She became the youngest American wrestler to ever win a gold Olympic medal.
Elor is the youngest daughter of two Israelis who immigrated to the U.S. in 1980. Her father, Yair, a former Israeli shot put champion, moved to America with his wife Elana and they raised a family of magnificent wrestlers. Amit, the youngest of six children had no choice but to pursue a wrestling career after being hooked on the sport by her older siblings Ronny and Orry, who won wrestling competitions as teenagers.
Aside from the Olympic gold medal, Elor hasn't lost a match in the previous five years. Since her last loss in 2019, she has won eight world championships in both age-group and senior-level competitions, gone 41-0 in international competition and outscored opponents by a combined score of 353-8. "I’m surprised anyone scored on her at all," admitted her coach, Sara McMann.
"I'm still in disbelief," Elor said minutes after her gold medal win. "I think I have a little bit of impostor syndrome because I still feel like that little kid who just started wrestling. But I just became an Olympic champion."
Many in Israel have heard the champion's story, her close connection to the country, and of the recent request of the Israeli Olympic Committee to convince Elor to represent the country in the next Olympics. During interviews following her victory, she held up the yellow ribbon pin that symbolizes the struggle to return the hostages and said, "Bring them home."
"I heard last night that almost the whole country [of Israel] was watching me and that it was on all the news networks, and I just can’t believe all the love I’ve received," she said. "I’ve always felt that (Israel) to be a huge part of my identity, but especially after the tragedy on Oct. 7, it’s been horrifying, and I feel like it’s [revealed] a new element of my identity. … I really hope that I can bring even just an ounce of joy to the people right now."
"Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics because I’m from California. California is my favorite place to live – I was born and raised in California," she said. "To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible. I have been excited for that ever since I heard about it.”
'We would love for you to represent Israel at the Olympic Games in 2028'
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar commented Wednesday morning on Elor's win. "Together with all of Israel, I was excited to watch the final and her win. Amit spoke a lot about her connection with Israel, took a picture with the hostages' pin and moved us all. We would be very happy for Amit to make aliyah, to be a part of the Israeli delegation, and represent Israel at the Olympic Games in 2028."
