Tamyra Mensah-Stock made history during the women’s 68-kilogram freestyle wrestling final becoming the first Black woman to win gold in the event adding another big victory to Team USA’s ever-growing medal count.
Mensah-Stock won 4-1 over Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu. Stock’s open showing of genuine joy upon winning gold has been one of the most memorable emotional moments during the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Per The New York Times, Mensah-Stock said in the post-match interview of her historic moment, “Oh my gosh, look at us representing. And I’m like, if one of us wins, we’re making history. You’re making history, I’m making history, we’re making history. It’s fantastic. It meant a lot. I’m so proud of Blessing. I was looking at her, ‘Dang, she’s killing it.’ But I can kill it, too.”
She added, “Young women are going to see themselves in a number of ways. And they’re going to look up there and go: ‘I can do that. I can see myself.’ Look at this natural hair. Come on, man! I made sure I brought my puffballs out so they could know that you can do it, too…you can be silly, you can have fun, and you can be strong, you can be tough and you can be a wrestler.”
As of publishing, Team USA has the most total medal at the Tokyo Olympics with 79. Of those medals, 25 are gold, 31 are silver and 23 are bronze. China is in second place with 70 medals, but they have the most gold medals of any nation, so far, with 32.