Olympic Trials Preview: Two-time World champion Elor aims for first Olympic berth at 68 kg

The hype surrounding the remarkable Amit Elor is nothing short of electric this Olympic cycle as she descends from her traditional weight class of 72 kg to battle for the Olympic spot at 68 kg. Elor has won the last two Senior World titles at 72 kg and is undefeated in her Senior-level career, establishing her as the clear favorite in State College.

The 20-year-old phenom from Walnut Creek, Calif., has earned eight UWW World titles in freestyle wrestling across all age divisions—two Senior World golds, two U23 World golds, three U20 World golds and one U17 World gold. In both 2022 and 2023, Elor achieved a unique trifecta, winning Senior, U23 and U20 titles in the same season. She is the youngest U.S. wrestler to win a Senior World title, doing so in 2022 at age 18.

Elor made the drop to 68 kg in early February, winning the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier Wrestle-Off bracket with an 8-0 victory over two-time World medalist Mallory Velte. She went on to qualify the weight class for the Paris Olympics by going undefeated at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico. Thanks to qualifying the weight class, Elor has automatically advanced to the best-of-three championships series set for Saturday night at Bryce Jordan Center.

Since stepping up to the age-group scene for Team USA, Elor has only one recorded loss across the U17, U20, U23 and Senior levels—a 3-1 decision in the semifinals of the 2019 U17 World Championships to Honoka Nakai of Japan. She is currently riding an impressive 80-match win streak.

2021 Senior World bronze medalist Forrest Molinari is the most experienced star in the challenge tournament field and the likeliest to push Elor for the Olympic spot. Molinari, who has made three Senior World Teams, won the 2023 Pan American Games, plus three Pan American Championships gold medals. Molinari plans to pursue Mixed Martial Arts but seeks an Olympic medal first.

Another top contender with potential to emerge from the challenge field is Alexandria Glaude, a 2018 U23 World bronze medalist, 2019 Final X finalist, and three-time college national champion at McKendree. Glaude has won Senior Pan American and U.S. Open titles in the past.

Molinari owns a 5-0 record over Glaude, with their last meeting coming in the 2023 U.S. Open finals. Molinari took the bout by fall in 4:21. Neither Molinari nor Glaude have faced Elor in a competition setting, providing a bit of intrigue should either make the championship series.

Three other past college national champions qualified for the Olympic Trials by placing at December 2023 Senior Nationals, third place Alara Boyd, fourth place Solin Piearcy and fifth place Kaylynn Albrecht. Boyd won a NCWWC title for McKendree, Piearcy a NAIA title for Menlo and Albrecht a NAIA title for Baker. Boyd has made four age-group World teams and won two age-group World medals. Piearcy has been a member of the Senior National Team.

Add in a 2024 NAIA national champion Caitlyn Davis of Southern Oregon, and the college pipeline in this weight is well established. Chloe Ogden, who was fifth in the 2023 U.S. Open, won the Last Chance Qualifier to finalize the field.  

While weight classes and final athlete registrations are not finalized until the completion of weigh-ins, this cast of 8 wrestlers is the expected 68 kg field for the Olympic Trials.

Fans looking to attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in person can still purchase all session tickets and single session tickets through Ticketmaster.

For those unable to grab a ticket, fear not—all the action from Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast by NBC properties, April 19-20. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions will be televised on USA Network. NBC’s streaming platform Peacock will host live streams of each mat throughout the competition.

Complete brackets and live results for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be hosted on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @usawrestling on the various social media platforms for regular updates throughout the event.

For more information about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.