Growing up in Walnut Creek, Amit Elor would wrestle high school boys and “make them cry,” according to her former coach. And that’s when she was still in middle school.
Now Elor, an East Bay native whose Israeli parents moved to the U.S. in 1980, will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics as the youngest woman ever to qualify for the U.S. wrestling squad.
“I just couldn’t comprehend that I was going to the Olympics,” 20-year-old Elor said recently from the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, recalling the moment she won her qualifying match in April. “Everything felt so unreal. It was such a mix of emotions. It’s still hard for me to believe. Honestly, I think I’ll only be able to reflect on the experience after I compete.”
How does she like her chances? Elor hasn’t lost a match since 2019 and has earned multiple world titles. But, as she cautioned, “This is the Olympics.”
“All of my competitors are excellent wrestlers,” she added. “Some I’ve wrestled before at world championships. Others I have never faced. My matchups will all depend on the draw that happens days before. Anything can happen in competition. But I believe that if I’m at my best, I have the capabilities to win Olympic gold.”
Matt Zonfrello, who coached Elor in her freshman year at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, is certain she will come home with a medal.
“She was amazing when she came to me,” Zonfrello said. “She makes it look effortless. She’s very strong.”
Her former coach understands how Elor dominates her opponents. “She knows what you’re going to do,” he said. “She waits for you to make a mistake. She will put you in a slightly bad position and wait for you to make it worse.”
On her official Olympics page, alongside a long list of awards, Elor shares that she has “had chickens, ducks and a goose as pets” and “has watched the television series Futurama through multiple times.”
Elana Elor is proud of her daughter and at the same time not surprised she’s headed for Paris, where the games begin July 26. (Wrestling competition begins Aug. 5.)
“I don’t want to brag, but we were sure she would do it,” she said. “[Amit] is a perfectionist. When she does something, she’s going to fully do it.”
Amit’s fascination with wrestling started at age 4, watching her older sister Ronny and older brother Orry excel in the sport. Both later became champions.
“After watching their practices, I wanted to wrestle too,” she recalled. “Luckily there was a youth wrestling program available. Until I reached middle school, there were almost no girls for me to wrestle, so I competed against boys. There were times I felt isolated being the only girl. At school, some kids would tease me for wrestling. During training, I’ve had coaches push me to the sidelines, and boys that refused to be my partner. But through all of it, I still fell in love with wrestling.”
That passion came with the full support of her parents, who hail from Ashkelon, Israel. They have six children, Amit being the youngest.
“We did not push them to be competitive athletes,” her mother noted. “We wanted them to be active and not sit in front of the computer all day.”
Elor tried her hand at many sports, including gymnastics and jujitsu.
She is a “natural” at sports all-around, her mother said. “She’s also an excellent student. She’s the kid who would come from school and immediately do her homework. She never played video games, never watched a lot of TV. Sports truly make her happy.”
Elor is also proud of her Jewish and Israeli heritage, although it made her feel “different” as a youngster.
“I spoke only Hebrew until I went to the local JCC preschool” in Contra Costa County, she said. “I often felt different, not knowing why. I think I only realized the impact of being culturally Israeli and Jewish as I got older. I would often feel uncomfortable telling others I was Jewish, but now it’s something I am proud of. I believe I would not be the person I am today without my Jewish background.”
The family visited Israel every summer while Elor was growing up. She has participated in wrestling tournaments there and was asked to join the Israeli Olympic wrestling team.
“Unfortunately Israel didn’t have the funding or training I needed to excel,” she said. “I think the Israeli wrestling team has great potential. During my last trip to Israel in February 2023, I was amazed to see a huge increase in girls wrestling.”
Though she will wrestle for Team USA, Elor worries about the well-being of Israeli Olympians in Paris this summer, given the wave of anti-Israel sentiment that has spread across the globe.
“I am very concerned about hostility Israeli athletes may receive this summer,” she said. “Particularly after what happened in the 1972 Munich Olympics, the horrifying attack on Oct. 7, the ongoing war in Israel, and the antisemitism uprising all over the world. Israel means a lot to me. It’s my parents’ home and therefore it’s my home, too.”
She may be only 20, but Elor is already a role model for younger girls aspiring to participate and excel in wrestling. She has a simple message to those admirers.
“For the young girls watching me, keep working hard and never give up on your dreams,” she said. “Going to the Olympics has always been a dream, but now it’s my reality.”