In the women’s 68-kilogram freestyle event, Tamyra Mensah-Stock had a night to remember.
In her Olympic debut, Team USA’s Tamyra Mensah-Stock ended on a high note, capturing gold in the women’s freestyle 68kg with a 4-1 victory over Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu.
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Freestyle 68Kg Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Tamyra Mensah-Stock Gold Medal
Two minutes in, Mensah-Stock scored twice before Oborududu was able to escape and score. With 3.5 minutes remaining, the American scored the final two points of the match on a second takedown.
It was a nerve-wracking run-up to the gold medal game.
“I tried to keep calm, but it was impossible,” the tournament’s top seed admitted.
If you want some idea into how ugly it was, consider this: “I honestly don’t know how I did it; I simply kept telling my coaches ‘I’m nervous, I’m scared.'”
Since competition began on August 2, Mensah-Stock had dominated the 68 kilogramme weight class, winning every bout by a cumulative score of 34-5. Among her four opponents was Rio 2016 gold medalist DOSHO Sara.
Mensah-Stock hasn’t dropped more than one match at the global level since her victory at the 2019 worlds in Nur-Sultan.
In spite of sweeping all three of her matches at the 2019 World Cup, she ended up in second place at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone competition.
In Rome, Mensah-Stock advanced to the final by beating Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, in Tokyo. However, she ultimately lost an 8-8 decision to Zhou of China.
Since then, the American has won the Grand Prix de France and the Matteo Pellicone in 2021, in addition to the 2020 and 2021 Pan American Championships.
Despite being the odds-on favourite, Mensah-Stock isn’t taking anything for granted.
Just keep a strong mind and body,” she told herself. “I can’t claim that each individual is a source of concern, but I do need to be vigilant. The reason being that anything might occur at any given moment.”
Mensah-Stock, an extrovert who is naturally upbeat, didn’t let the Olympics’ delay dampen her spirit.
“I was disappointed, but I understood that it would only be postponed, not cancelled,” she explained. “I was relieved, too, because it meant I could spend more time with my husband and our dogs, as well as more time with my extended family. It was, in a sense, a wonderful vacation.”
Last Words
Mensah-Stock declined to comment when asked about a probable disagreement with Dosho.She suggested that the wrestling do the talking.
“For the most part, I refrain from opining on the work of my rivals. Go out there and wrestle the right way, with all your might and intelligence.” Thanks for reading our article Freestyle 68Kg Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
