Yesterday, American wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock made history in the women’s 68kg freestyle category at the Tokyo Olympics. By defeating Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu in the final, she became USA’s second female Olympic gold medalist in the sport after Helen Maroulis won five years ago.
In addition, she also became the first American black female gold medalist with her victory. While many Americans don’t have an Olympic wrestling gold medal, Kurt Angle doesn’t feature among them. The 52-year-old won gold in the 1996 Atlanta Games before foraying into pro-wrestling.
After Tamyra’s victory, Angle took to Twitter to congratulate her for making history in Tokyo.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Hall of Famer Kurt Angle congratulates Tamyra Mensah-Stock for gold medal in Tokyo Olympics
In 1996, Angle took part in the Atlanta Olympics in the men’s 100kg freestyle wrestling category. He made it to the Games despite suffering a severe neck injury during the trials just months earlier. Despite that injury, Angle won a gold medal that year with a “broken freakin’ neck.”
After the victory, Angle joined the WWE in 1998 and made a mark with his impressive ability to entertain the audience. While he left in 2006, he returned in 2017 as the general manager of Monday Night Raw, a couple of months after being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. He then returned to in-ring competition later that year before retiring after WrestleMania 35 in 2019.
After Mensah-Stock made history in Tokyo, Angle took to Twitter to congratulate the 28-year-old for her impressive achievement. He wrote,?“Congrats to Tamyra Mensah-Stock on being the first American Black Woman in history to win Olympic Gold in wrestling!!! Awesome!!!!!”
Congrats to Tamyra Mensah-Stock on being the first American Black Woman in history to win Olympic Gold in wrestling!!! Awesome!!!!! #olympics #usawrestling pic.twitter.com/zGdpv3loQW
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) August 3, 2021
READ MORE: Wow! USA?s Tamyra Mensah-Stock Creates History for Black Women at the Tokyo Olympics 2020
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Mensah-Stock came into the competition as the World No. 1
Prior to Tokyo, the 28-year-old achieved tremendous success in competitions leading up to the Games. During the last three years, she won the World Championships in 2019 along with the Pan American Championships three consecutive times. While she filled her medal cabinet, she became the World No. 1 in her category.
In her maiden Olympic debut, the Chicago-born wrestler stormed to the semifinal by winning back-to-back matches on technical superiority. After defeating Ukraine’s Alla Cherkasova in the semifinal, she faced off against Oborududu in the final. Despite the Nigerian giving a tough fight, Mensah-Stock made history with a 4-1 victory.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH STORY: Kurt Angle, Ronda Rousey and More: WWE Superstars Who Competed at the Olympics