Sebastian Rivera had a hero’s welcome after becoming the first Shore Conference wrestler to win an Olympic medal. JSZ was in Toms River for the celebration and talked to the 2016 NJ state champion about his dramatic win on the final day of the 2024 Paris games!
Sebastian Rivera has always had a flair for the dramatic. In 2013, he pinned future NCAA wrestling champion Patrick Glory in overtime to win a state championship in Atlantic City as a CBA Colt. After five NCAA All-American seasons at Northwestern and Rutgers, Rivera represented Puerto Rico on the world stage earning a silver medal in the 2023 World Championships to secure a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wrestling at 65 kg (143 pounds), Rivera won three of four matches to win the bronze medal, one of two medals for the Puerto Rican contingent. In the bronze medal match on the final day of the 2024 games, Rivera appeared to suffer a heartbreaking 9-8 defeat to Mongolia’s Tulga Tomor-Ochir. But a video challenge after time expired showed Rivera completing a two-point takedown and getting the 10-9 win.
JSZ’s Rich Chrampanis talked with Rivera about the drama of his medal winning moment, the double back flip celebration inspired by his sister and representing New Jersey wrestling on the world stage:
