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

Eliana Bommarito (Brighton, Mich.) has been named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on September 25, 2024.

Bommarito, hailed as the greatest Beach wrestler in USA Wrestling history, further cemented her legacy by clinching a gold medal at the Beach World Series in Katerini-Pierria, Greece, on Sunday.

As the 2023 Beach World champion, Bommarito has been a dominant force over the past year. However, she faced a challenge this weekend, needing to overcome adversity and avenge two losses to claim the top spot on the podium.

On Saturday, Bommarito lost her first Group A match to 2024 Olympian Catalina Axente of Romania, getting pinned in 18 seconds. Despite having multiple previous victories over Axente on the Beach tour, this was a setback. In her second group match, she bounced back to defeat Stefania Zacheila of Greece, 3-0.

Sunday morning saw Bommarito in her final group match against Daria Konstantynova of Ukraine, who had defeated her in the semifinals of the U20 Beach World Championships on Friday. Bommarito avenged this loss with a pin in 33 seconds, securing her spot in the semifinals. She continued her winning streak by defeating Iryna Pasichnyk of Ukraine, 3-1, setting up a rematch with Axente in the gold-medal bout.

The final match was back-and-forth, with both wrestlers scoring a pair of one-point moves, tying the bout at 2-2. Bommarito, using double overhooks, pressed the action. When Axente attempted an attack, Bommarito executed a hip toss from the double overs, pinning Axente for the victory at 1:38.

Bommarito has won five career Beach World Series gold medals, with 2023 victories in Turkey and Romania, and 2024 wins in France, Romania and now in Greece

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