The best female athlete we've ever seen.
That is how David Miller describes 20-year-old Amit Elor, Walnut Creek's Olympic gold medalist in wrestling. Miller, who has been Elor's strength and conditioning coach for the past decade, said he saw something special in her when she was just 10 years old.
"I looked at her and I asked her 'What's a little girl want to wrestle for? Why do you want to wrestle?' And she looked at me with the most determined eyes and she said 'I want to win the Olympics.' I looked over at her mother and said I'll train her," Miller said.
Miller was in Paris to watch Elor accomplish her dream, becoming the youngest American wrestler - man or woman - to win an Olympic gold medal. He called it the moment of his coaching career.
"To be there in person and watch that is pure emotion," he said. "It's just joy."
The world champion did not just win gold, but also dominated the competition. Miller said it's not just her physical ability, but her mental focus that is unmatched.
"She shelves her emotions at the door, gets her work in, and it's always beautiful work," Miller said. "This is her superpower and this is why she is the best in the world. This is what she does that no one else can do."
And now Miller is paving the way for other young women by showing his girls wrestling is not just a sport for men.
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"There is an army of little girls that love wrestling because of her and they are following her," Miller said. "She does workshops. They show up everywhere."
Miller said he could not be prouder.
"If I could have a daughter, it would be Amit and I think every coach that's ever worked with her feels the same way," he said.
