Tamyra Mensah-Stock

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Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock
Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's freestyle 68 kg medal podium - Tamyra Mensah (cropped).jpg
Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's freestyle 68 kg medal podium.
Personal information
Full nameTamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1992-10-11) October 11, 1992 (age 29)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb)
Spouse(s)Jacob Stock
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle
College teamWayland Baptist University
ClubTitan Mercury Wrestling Club
Coached byIzzy Izboinikov[1]
Medal record
Women's Freestyle Wrestling
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 68 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Nur-Sultan 68 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Budapest 68 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Oslo 68 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima 68 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Buenos Aires 68 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Ottawa 68 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Guatemala City 68 kg
Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin
Gold medal – first place 2017 Krasnoyarsk 69 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Krasnoyarsk 68 kg
Gold medal – first place 2019 Krasnoyarsk 72 kg

Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock (born October 11, 1992, née Mensah) is an American wrestler who competes in women's freestyle wrestling. She won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on August 3, 2021, and is the first black woman to have done so.[1][2][3]

Early life and education[]

Tamyra was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Her father was a Ghanaian who lived in Ghana until the age of 30, and her mother is from Illinois.[1]

At Morton Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, her twin sister, Tarkyia, joined the wrestling team their freshman year while Tamyra pursued track and field. She joined the wrestling team her sophomore year, at age 15, after her sister and the wrestling coach, Mark Balser, convinced her to take part in a wrestling practice session.[4][5][6][7][8][9] However, she almost quit after her father's fatal car accident, on his way home from one of her high school wrestling matches.[10] She blamed wrestling for her father's untimely demise. She saw him as her biggest supporter.[11]

In 2010 and 2011, she became the Texas High School Girls Champion having finished second in 2009.[12] In 2010, she became the U.S. junior runner-up.

After high school, she attended Wayland Baptist University (WBU) where earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Sports Science. As a student wrestler, she became the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) Nationals Champion in 2014 and 2017. She also took third place in the 2013 U.S. Universities Championship and first place in 2015.

Career[]

Although she won the 68 kg class at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, none of the athletes from the United States secured a spot to compete in relevant 68 kg weight category at the 2016 Rio Olympics, so she spent her time in Brazil as a practice partner for teammates who were eligible in other weight categories. Olympics.[13]

She won the gold medal in the women's 68 kg event during the 2019 World Wrestling Championships and also qualified to represent United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[14][15] She was one of the three gold medalists for the United States in women's freestyle category at the 2019 World Championships, which also marked the first instance where U.S. delegation claimed three gold medals in women's wrestling event at a single World Championships.[16]

Tamyra also claimed a bronze medal in the women's 68 kg event at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships.[17]

In January 2021, she won the gold medal in the women's 68 kg event at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021 held in Nice, France.[18] She also won the gold medal in the 68 kg event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 held in Rome, Italy.[19]

On August 3, 2021, she won the gold medal in the women's freestyle 68 kg after defeating Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu 4–1, at the 2020 Summer Olympics[20][21] She became the first female African-American wrestler to win Olympic gold[22][23] and only the second female American to win gold, after Helen Maroulis in 2016.[24] Two months after the Olympics, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 68 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Oslo, Norway.[25][26]

Personal life[]

In 2016, Mensah-Stock married Jacob Stock, who wrestled alongside his future wife at Morton Ranch High School and at Wayland Baptist University with Mensah-Stock.[27][4] Mensah-Stock is a pescatarian.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Wagner, James (3 August 2021). "Tamyra Mensah-Stock becomes the first Black woman to win a wrestling gold". New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. ^ "International Wrestling Database - Tamyra Mensah". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Retrieved 2019-09-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Goodman, Claire (6 August 2021). "Bond between Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock, ex-Katy ISD coach carries on beyond the ring". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Tamyra Mensah - 2016-17 - Women's Wrestling". Wayland Baptist University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  6. ^ Vype, Dennis Silva Ii (2021-07-14). "'A Heart of Gold:' Former Katy Morton Ranch High star Mensah-Stock bound for Olympics". KPRC. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  7. ^ "Is US wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock the most upbeat athlete at Tokyo 2020?". The Guardian. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Tamyra Mensah-Stock: USA wrestler is a pescatarian and has a zombie alter ego". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Meet the Athletes: Tamyra Mensah-Stock | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  10. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (2 August 2021). "'How I always am': Karaoke machine in tow, Tamyra Mensah-Stock dominates, sings way to wrestling finals". USA TODAY. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  11. ^ Barron, David (15 July 2021). "Olympic wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock equal parts hunter and hugger". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  12. ^ https://www.teamusa.org/usa-wrestling/athletes/Tamyra-Mensah
  13. ^ https://www.teamusa.org/News/2021/February/24/Wrestling-Helped-Tamyra-Mensah-Stock-Find-Her-Confidence-And-Her-Calling
  14. ^ "World Wrestling Championship". Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  15. ^ jeandaniel. "2019 World Wrestling Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  16. ^ OlympicTalk (2019-09-20). "Tamyra Mensah-Stock caps historic wrestling worlds for U.S. women". OlympicTalk. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  17. ^ "2018 World Wrestling Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  18. ^ "Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021 Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Tamyra Mensah-Stock Takes Gold in Wrestling". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  21. ^ Reuters Staff (2021-08-03). "Olympics-Wrestling-Mensah-Stock wins women's freestyle light heavyweight gold medal". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  22. ^ "Tamyra Mensah-Stock wins women's freestyle 68kg". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  23. ^ "Mensah-Stock 1st first Black U.S. woman wrestler to win gold". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  24. ^ Ayala, Erica L. (2021-08-03). "Tamyra Mensah-Stock becomes second U.S. woman to win Olympic wrestling gold". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  25. ^ Burke, Patrick (7 October 2021). "Helen Louise Maroulis wins third title at Wrestling World Championships in Oslo". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  27. ^ Finn, Mike (2021-05-06). "Making of a Superhero". WIN Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "Tamyra Mensah-Stock: Five things to know about the wrestling Olympic champion". Olympics.com. Retrieved 9 December 2019.

External links[]

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