'I Just Won the Olympics,' Says USA Wrestling's Newest Gold Medalist, Sarah Hildebrandt

PARIS — At the conclusion of the final match in Champ-de-Mars Arena on Wednesday, the words “I just won the Olympics” were muffled through a red, white, and blue mouthguard belonging to Sarah Hildebrandt. The Indiana native took home gold in the women’s 50 kg. freestyle Wednesday evening, becoming just the second American woman in history to win two Olympic medals in wrestling. After a morning of uncertainty among the weight class, it was Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez that Hildebrandt faced and defeated 3-0.

Wednesday’s gold follows Hildebrandt’s first Olympics in Tokyo where she claimed a share of the bronze medal with Azerbaijan’s Marita Stadnik. She is the second U.S. wrestler to take home a gold medal in Paris after Amit Elor secured gold in women’s freestyle 63 kg. on Tuesday. This is the first Olympic Games that the U.S. women have brought home multiple gold medals in women’s wrestling.

“It just speaks volumes,” said Hildebrandt on her and Elor’s success. “To these women and our coaches and the people around us, to the investment in women's sports. It’s just a strong group of women.”

The 30-year-old showcased some strong performances yesterday to keep her confidence elevated going into the final. She opened her first day with a dominant victory by technical superiority as she held Algeria’s Ibtissem Doudou scoreless while racking up 10 points in the first period alone. Hildebrandt followed that up with a 7-4 over China’s Ziqi Feng in the quarterfinals before punching her ticket to the final by defeating Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav 5-0.

Guzman Lopez was not Hildebrandt’s original opponent for the final. India’s Vinesh Phogat had earned a spot in the gold medal match after defeating Guzman Lopez in Tuesday’s  semi-final. However, Phogat was disqualified after failing her weigh-in on Wednesday morning, registering 100 grams over the limit for the 50kg category.

“We were preparing for chaos but that was not on my bingo card of chaos,” said Hildebrandt on the hectic morning. “We get the news that she didn’t make weight… we were under the impression that it was a forfeit. There was lots of celebrating and it was very strange like ‘Oh my God I just won the Olympics.’”

About an hour following the initial news on Phogat’s disqualification, Hildebrandt and her team were informed it would not be a forfeit. According to Article 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, if an opponent fails to make weight in the final, they are replaced by the athlete they beat in the semifinal.

“There had to be a hard reset,” said Hildebrandt after finding out she would be facing Guzman Lopez. “My family was calling, and I was getting text messages. I had shift back into this focus mindset and that’s what we did. I took a nap, I woke up and it was like a fever dream that never even happened.

Hildebrandt’s gold is the latest in a list of accolades including her bronze medal from Tokyo and four World Championship medals, two silver and two bronze. Her time on the U.S. National team has spanned eleven years and included six World Championship teams. Before representing Team USA at the biggest stage, she got her start in the sport by joining the boys' wrestling team at her high school in Mishawaka, Indiana. She had to convince her parents to let her join the male-dominated sport, wanting to follow in her brothers’ footsteps. At the time, she was one of three girls on the Penn High School team, which now boasts a roster full of dozens of girls. Hildebrandt hopes to see the sport of women’s wrestling model that same growth.

“It’s cool to be a part of this trailblazing in women’s wrestling,” said Hildebrandt. “There’s obviously so many women who came before me and laid the track for me. But to just keep building this platform… we’re seeing more and more people start to believe in themselves that they can do this. It’s such an honor to be a part of that.”

Hanna Barton is writing for Team USA as a graduate student in the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University Indianapolis.