Tamyra Mensah-Stock Explained

Tamyra Mensah-Stock
Fullname:Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock
Birth Date:11 October 1992
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Hometown:Katy, Texas, U.S.
Height:1.65m
Weight:69kg (152lb)
Spouse:Jacob Stock
Country:United States
Sport:Wrestling
Event:Freestyle
Collegeteam:Wayland Baptist University
Club:Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Coach:Terry Steiner
Izzy Izboinikov

Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock (born October 11, 1992, Mensah) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she wrestles on the NXT brand under the name Tyra Mae Steele.

Mensah-Stock previously competed in women's freestyle wrestling, winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on August 3, 2021, and became the first black woman to win gold in women's freestyle wrestling.[1] [2]

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.[3]

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] However, she almost quit after her father's fatal car accident, on his way home from one of her high school wrestling matches.[9] She blamed wrestling for her father's untimely death. She saw him as her biggest supporter.[10]

In 2010 and 2011, she became the Texas High School Girls Champion having finished second in 2009.[11] In 2010, she became the U.S. Junior National runner-up.

After high school, she attended Wayland Baptist University (WBU) where she 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 at the U.S. Universities Championship and first place in 2015.

Amateur 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.[12]

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.[13] [14] 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.[15]

Tamyra also claimed a bronze medal in the women's 68 kg event at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships.[16]

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.[17] She also won the gold medal in the 68 kg event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 held in Rome, Italy.[18]

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.[19] [20] She became the first female African-American and the first Black wrestler to win Olympic gold,[21] [22] and only the second female American to win gold, after Helen Maroulis in 2016.[23] 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.[24] [25]

She won the gold medal in her event at the 2022 Tunis Ranking Series event held in Tunis, Tunisia.[26]

Professional wrestling

On May 3, 2023, it was announced Mensah-Stock had signed with WWE to become a professional wrestler.[27] She is the third Olympic wrestling gold medalist (after Kurt Angle and Gable Steveson) and the first female Olympic wrestling gold medalist to sign with the company. On the taping of the July 5, 2024 edition of NXT Level Up, she made her in-ring debut under the name Tyra Mae Steele, in a losing effort against Wren Sinclair.[28]

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.[29] [30] Mensah-Stock is a pescatarian.[31]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wrestling Results Book. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210807164330/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/resOG2020-/pdf/OG2020-/WRE/OG2020-_WRE_B99_WRE-------------------------------.pdf. 7 August 2021. 8 August 2021. Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
  2. Web site: International Wrestling Database - Tamyra Mensah. www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. 2019-09-21.
  3. News: Wagner . James . Tamyra Mensah-Stock becomes the first Black woman to win a wrestling gold. . 9 August 2021 . New York Times . 3 August 2021.
  4. Web site: Tamyra Mensah - 2016-17 - Women's Wrestling. 2021-08-03. Wayland Baptist University Athletics. en.
  5. Web site: Vype. Dennis Silva Ii. 2021-07-14. 'A Heart of Gold:' Former Katy Morton Ranch High star Mensah-Stock bound for Olympics. 2021-08-03. KPRC. en.
  6. News: 2 August 2021. Is US wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock the most upbeat athlete at Tokyo 2020?. 3 August 2021 . The Guardian. en.
  7. Web site: Tamyra Mensah-Stock: USA wrestler is a pescatarian and has a zombie alter ego. 3 August 2021. Tokyo 2020. en-US. August 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210804185342/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/tamyra-mensah-usa-wrestler-zombie-pescatarian-champion. dead.
  8. Web site: Meet the Athletes: Tamyra Mensah-Stock NBC Olympics. 3 August 2021. www.nbcolympics.com. en.
  9. News: Bumbaca. Chris. 'How I always am': Karaoke machine in tow, Tamyra Mensah-Stock dominates, sings way to wrestling finals. 2 August 2021. 3 August 2021. USA TODAY. en-US.
  10. News: Barron. David. 15 July 2021. Olympic wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock equal parts hunter and hugger . 3 August 2021. Houston Chronicle. en-US.
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200406175256/https://www.teamusa.org/usa-wrestling/athletes/Tamyra-Mensah Tamyra Mensah
  12. Web site: Wrestling Helped Tamyra Mensah-Stock Find Her Confidence And Her Calling. February 24, 2021. www.teamusa.com. December 2, 2023.
  13. Web site: World Wrestling Championship. 2019-09-21.
  14. Web site: 2019 World Wrestling Championships. jeandaniel. United World Wrestling. en. 2019-09-21.
  15. Web site: Tamyra Mensah-Stock caps historic wrestling worlds for U.S. women. OlympicTalk. 2019-09-20. OlympicTalk. en. 2019-09-21.
  16. Web site: 2018 World Wrestling Championships. United World Wrestling. en. 2019-09-21.
  17. Web site: Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021 Results Book. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211023195336/https://cdn.uww.org/s3fs-public/2021-01/results_01_nice.pdf. 23 October 2021. 23 October 2021. United World Wrestling.
  18. Web site: Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210321221706/https://uww.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/final-book_matteo_pellicone_2021.pdf. 21 March 2021. 21 March 2021. United World Wrestling.
  19. Web site: Tamyra Mensah-Stock Takes Gold in Wrestling. 2021-08-03. NBC Chicago. en-US.
  20. News: 2021-08-03. Olympics-Wrestling-Mensah-Stock wins women's freestyle light heavyweight gold medal. en. Reuters. 2021-08-03.
  21. Web site: Tamyra Mensah-Stock wins women's freestyle 68kg. 2021-08-03. Tokyo 2020. en-US. August 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210803200519/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/golden-night-for-tamyra-mensah-stock-in-women-s-freestyle-68kg. dead.
  22. News: Mensah-Stock 1st first Black U.S. woman wrestler to win gold. en-US. Washington Post. 2021-08-03. 0190-8286.
  23. News: Tamyra Mensah-Stock becomes second U.S. woman to win Olympic wrestling gold . Erica L. . Ayala . . 2021-08-03 . 2021-08-04.
  24. News: Burke. Patrick. 7 October 2021. Helen Louise Maroulis wins third title at Wrestling World Championships in Oslo. InsideTheGames.biz. 7 October 2021.
  25. Web site: 2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211016114828/https://uww.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/results_10_oslo.pdf. 16 October 2021. 16 October 2021. United World Wrestling.
  26. Web site: 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Results Book . https://web.archive.org/web/20220719112138/https://cdn.uww.org/s3fs-public/2022-07/final-book-zouhaier_sghaier_0.pdf?VersionId=7Eym.guK9SHiyC6Bsh3Jnsong8qK_Syt . 19 July 2022 . 19 July 2022 . United World Wrestling.
  27. Web site: WWE signs wrestling gold medalist Mensah-Stock. May 3, 2023. ESPN.com. December 2, 2023.
  28. Web site: Spoilers For This Week’s NXT Level Up. 411Mania. Jeremy. Thomas. July 2, 2024. July 3, 2024.
  29. Web site: Finn. Mike. 2021-05-06. Making of a Superhero. 2021-08-03. WIN Magazine. en-US.
  30. News: Goodman . Claire . Bond between Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock, ex-Katy ISD coach carries on beyond the ring . 9 August 2021 . Houston Chronicle . 6 August 2021.
  31. https://olympics.com/en/news/tamyra-mensah-usa-wrestler-zombie-pescatarian-champion "Tamyra Mensah-Stock: Five things to know about the wrestling Olympic champion"

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