When Tamyra Mensah-Stock defeated Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu 4-1 in the women’s 68-kilogram freestyle wrestling final on Tuesday, she made history – she became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling history.

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling history Tuesday

  • Mensah-Stock defeated Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu, who also made history with her silver medal as the first Nigerian — male or female — to earn a wrestling medal at the Olympics

  • Mensah-Stock is also just the second woman ever to win Olympics gold in the sport after fellow American Helen Maroulis won in 2016

  • She told reporters that she hoped her victory would encourage Black girls in the United States to consider wrestling

“I knew I could do it," the 28-year-old from Katy, Texas, said. "I knew it would be hard. I prayed I could do it. In my wildest dreams I knew.”

Mensah-Stock is also just the second American woman overall to win Olympics gold in the sport, which was first added to the games in 2004, after fellow American Helen Maroulis won in 2016.

Jumping for joy and wiping away tears, Mensah-Stock told reporters that she hoped her victory would encourage Black girls in the United States to consider wrestling.

“These 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,” she said. “I can see myself.”

And with her silver victory, Oborududu also made history also as the first Nigerian — male or female — to earn a wrestling medal at the Olympics. Mensah-Stock was proud of the fact that she wrestled a Black African woman for the gold medal. Mensah-Stock’s father is from Ghana, a nation in West Africa.

“I’m like, ’Oh my gosh, look at us representing,” Mensah-Stock said. “It’s so freaking awesome. You’re making history, I’m making history. We’re making history. So it meant a lot.”

“He would have been the loudest one here,” Mensah-Stock said of her father, who died in a car accident while leaving one of her wrestling meets in high school. “He would have been so proud.”

Mensah-Stock, the No. 1 seed, blitzed through a formidable field. She defeated Japan’s Sara Dosho — a 2016 Olympic gold medalist — 10-0 in the first round.

She beat China’s Feng Zhao 10-0 in the quarterfinals, then beat Ukraine’s Alla Cherkasova — a former world champion — 10-4 in the semifinal.

She finished the dominant run by defeating Oborududu, the No. 2 seed and a three-time Olympian, in the final.

“Well, you’ve got to beat the best to know that you’re the best,” Mensah-Stock said. “And that’s what I keep telling myself. It doesn’t matter the draw. You go out there and you beat whoever is in front of you because that’s how you tell somebody that you were the best. I’m the bad draw.”

Wrapped in an American flag, Mensah-Stock told reporters that she was thrilled to represent the United States at the Tokyo games: "I love representing the U.S., I freaking love living there, I love it and I’m so happy I get to represent U-S-A!"

When asked what she was going to do with her earnings from winning the gold, Mensah-Stock said that she was going to spend the prize money buying her mother a food truck.

“I wanted to give my mom $30,000 so she can get a food truck, ‘cause it’s her dream,” Mensah-Stock said. “And I told her five years ago, ‘Alright mommy, I’ll get you your food truck, but you gotta be responsible.

“So my mom’s gettin’ her food truck!” she added. “She’s gonna have her little cooking business. She can cook really, really, really well. Barbecue!”

But, unfortunately for Mensah-Stock's mother, she might not have a customer in her gold medal-winning daughter: "I don’t eat it because I’m a pescatarian now," Mensah-Stock noted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.