Sarah Hildebrandt named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare

Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on August 15, 2024.

The 30-year-old from Granger, Ind., became the fourth American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling, doing so with a sensational tournament last week in Paris, France. She was one-of-two U.S. women to claim gold at this Olympic Games, joining 20-year-old phenom Amit Elor with the coveted hardware. Additionally, Hildebrandt became the second U.S. woman to earn multiple Olympic medals—Helen Maroulis, who now owns three after claiming a bronze medal in Paris, being the other.

Hildebrandt went 4-0 in a tough-as-nails 50 kg bracket to stand atop the podium in Paris. Entering the event as the No. 6 seed, Hildebrandt opened with an impressive 10-0 technical fall over four-time African bronze medalist Ibtissem Doudou of Algeria, a 7-4 victory over 2023 World bronze medalist Ziqi Feng of China in the quarterfinals, and a 5-0 decision against Otgonjargal Dolgorjav of Mongolia in the semifinals, avenging previous losses to Dolgorjav from the last two World Championships.

In a surprising turn of events, Hildebrandt was scheduled to face Vinesh of India in the gold medal match, but Vinesh failed to make weight, moving Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez into the finals. Hildebrandt controlled the finals match with a 3-0 win to clinch gold.

In addition to her two Olympic medals, Hildebrandt has won two World silver medals and two World bronze medals. She is a two-time Olympian, six-time U.S. World Team member and an eight-time Pan American champion. Wrestling collegiately for King University, Hildebrandt was a two-time WCWA national champion and four-time finalist.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please email the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments, and career accolades to communications@usawrestling.org.