Ali Bernard (born April 11, 1986 in
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the ...
) is a female wrestler, who competes in the women's freestyle heavyweight (72 kg) division.
Wrestling Greco-Roman-style in high school at
New Ulm High School, she earned the Minnesota state high school championship in 2004. Bernard received a college scholarship to compete in women's wrestling at the
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public university, public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the Unive ...
in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
, Canada, where she won four national college titles.
At the US qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics she earned a
bye to compete against 2004
bronze medal-winner
Katie Downing, whom she defeated in two matches at the 2008 qualifying match in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
; that feat earned her a spot to compete in the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China, competing for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. She competed in the
freestyle 72 kg/158.5 lbs class, because
Greco-Roman-style is not yet an
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
sport for women.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bernard defeated
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
's
Amarachi Obiajunwa, then lost to
China's
Wang Jiao which put her in the
repechage
Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...
competition for a
bronze medal. In those matches, she defeated
Sweden's
Jenny Fransson before losing to
Japan's
Kyoko Hamaguchi, placing fourth in her class.
She won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships, beating Fransson, Wang Jiao and Ohenewa Akuffo before losing to Stanka Zlateva.
As Zlateva reached the final, Bernard was able to fight for the bronze medal, beating Guzel Manyurova to win it.
Bernard originally lost to
Stephany Lee at the 2012 Olympic trials. Lee later tested positive for marijuana and Bernard was awarded the spot. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she lost to Jenny Fransson in the first round.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Ali
Living people
1986 births
Olympic wrestlers of the United States
Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
American female sport wrestlers
World Wrestling Championships medalists
21st-century American women