Wrestlers · Career complete
Ali Bernard
2x Olympian (2008 and 2012), fifth at 72 kg in Beijing; 2011 World bronze medalist; 2x Junior World champion; wrestled boys at New Ulm
New Ulm, MN · New Ulm HS · University of Regina, University of Alberta
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published October 10, 2026
Ali Bernard is a retired U.S. freestyle wrestler and two-time Olympian who placed fifth at 72 kg, about 158 pounds, in Beijing in 2008 and won a World bronze in 2011. From New Ulm, Minnesota, she followed her brother Andy into wrestling and wrestled on the New Ulm High School boys' team.
She won Junior World titles at 67 kg in 2003 and at 72 kg in 2005, the first American woman to win two. In 2004, still in high school, she won her first U.S. Open. She won four Canadian college national titles at Regina, then a fifth for Alberta in 2010.
In April 2008 she upset Katie Downing of the Sunkist Kids for the U.S. Open title, then beat Downing again in the Olympic Trials final in Las Vegas. In Beijing she pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa of Nigeria in 44 seconds and lost to eventual champion Jiao Wang of China. She beat Jenny Fransson of Sweden in the repechage, then lost the bronze-medal match to Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan.
She placed 18th at the 2009 Worlds in Herning, Denmark, and won the 2010 Pan American and University World titles. At the 2011 Worlds in Istanbul she pinned Wang and Guzel Manyurova of Kazakhstan on her way to bronze. The medal qualified the United States at 72 kg for London, and USA Wrestling named her its 2011 Women's Wrestler of the Year.
She lost the 2012 Olympic Trials final in Iowa City to Stephany Lee of Hawaii. Lee then accepted a one-year suspension and forfeited her results, and USA Wrestling named Bernard its Olympic nominee. In London she lost her opening bout to Fransson and tied for 13th.
She was an assistant coach at Alberta through 2013 and became Minnesota USA Wrestling's women's and girls' wrestling director in 2021. She entered the Canada West Hall of Fame in 2020 and the New Ulm High School Hall of Fame in 2021.
She is now the head coach at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, where eight of her wrestlers were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans in 2025-26.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Age group | Junior World Championships | 67 kg | 1st | The first of her two Junior World titles |
| 2003-04 | High school | ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year | national winner | She won her first senior U.S. Open title while still in high school | |
| 2004 | Senior | U.S. Open | 1st | First of three U.S. Open titles, with the others in 2008 and 2011. She was second in 2005 and third in 2006 | |
| 2005 | Age group | Junior World Championships | 72 kg | 1st | Her second Junior World title made her the first American woman to win two Junior World gold medals |
| 2005-10 | College | CIS Canadian College National Championships | 1st (five times) | Augsburg's biography and the Canada West Hall of Fame list four titles for the University of Regina from 2005 through 2008 and one for the University of Alberta in 2010, while a June 2008 Star Tribune story counts three by then. Five-time Canada West champion, Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year in 2005, Canada West Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2007 and Regina's Female Athlete of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. | |
| 2008 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 72 kg | 1st | The first of her two U.S. Olympic Team Trials titles |
| 2008 | Senior | Olympic Games, Beijing, China | 72 kg | 5th | All her bouts were on Aug. 17, 2008. She pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa (Nigeria), lost to eventual champion Jiao Wang (China), beat Jenny Fransson (Sweden) in the repechage and lost the repechage final to bronze medalist Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan). A 2020 New Ulm Journal story calls the finish fourth, while Team USA, USA Wrestling and Olympedia list fifth. |
| 2009 | Senior | U.S. World Team Trials | 72 kg | 1st | Competed at the 2009 World Championships |
| 2009 | Senior | World Championships, Herning, Denmark | 72 kg | 18th | FILA's official results list 21 wrestlers at 72 kg |
| 2010 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Monterrey, Mexico | 72 kg | 1st | 3-0. Went 3-0 on May 1, 2010, and beat Leah Callahan (Canada) 5-0, 3-0 in the final |
| 2010 | Age group | University World Championships, Torino, Italy | 72 kg | 1st | 4-0. Won four bouts. In the final she lost the first period to Hiroe Suzuki (Japan), 0-1, then pinned her in the second |
| 2011 | Senior | World Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | 72 kg | 3rd | Beat Jenny Fransson (Sweden) 7-6, 2-1, pinned Olympic champion Jiao Wang (China) 4-6, 8-7, 1:56 and pinned Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada), lost the semifinal to Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria), then pinned Guzel Manyurova (Kazakhstan) in 1:40 for bronze. The medal qualified the United States at 72 kg for the 2012 Olympic Games |
| 2012 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Iowa City | 72 kg | 1st | April 21, 2012. She lost the best-of-three championship series to Stephany Lee and placed second on the day. Lee later accepted a one-year suspension and forfeited her results from the event, and USA Wrestling named Bernard the Trials champion and its Olympic nominee in June 2012. |
| 2012 | Senior | Olympic Games, London, England | 72 kg | 13th | Lost her opening bout to Jenny Fransson (Sweden) by decision on Aug. 9, 2012, and tied for 13th |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@womenswrestlingclub.com and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ali-bernard · Two-time Olympian: fifth at 72 kg at Beijing 2008 and 13th at 72 kg at London 2012; 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion; third at the 2011 World Championships; 2010 World University champion; 2009 U.S. World Team Trials champion; World Championships appearances in 2009 and 2011 with one bronze medal; hometown New Ulm; New Ulm High School, coached by Dan Kurth on the varsity men's team; three sisters and one brother
- https://www.themat.com/news/2012/june/28/ali-bernard-named-as-nominee-t-25251 · June 28, 2012 USA Wrestling release by Gary Abbott: Bernard named the U.S. Olympic Team nominee at 72 kg after 2012 Trials champion Stephany Lee accepted a one-year suspension and forfeited her results; Bernard had placed second in the best-of-three series and became the Trials champion; 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion; 2004, 2008 and 2011 U.S. Open champion; second at the 2005 U.S. Open and third in 2006; two-time Junior World champion (2003, 2005); third at the 2006 Junior Worlds; 2009 U.S. World Team member; 2010 Pan American champion; second at the 2005 and 2010 World Team Trials; 2003-04 Junior Nationals, 2003 FILA Junior Nationals and 2003 FILA Cadet Nationals champion; five-time CIS Canadian college national champion for Regina and Alberta; TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year; her 2011 World bronze in Istanbul qualified the U.S. at 72 kg for London. The release's prose dates her University World title to 2012 while its bio block says 2010.
- https://www.twincities.com/2008/08/16/ali-bernard-of-new-ulm-minn-just-misses-bronze-in-womens-wrestling/ · Aug. 16, 2008 Pioneer Press: at her first senior-level international event she pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa (Nigeria) in 44 seconds, lost to eventual gold medalist Jiao Wang (China), beat Jenny Fransson (Sweden) 3-1, 3-0 in the repechage and lost the bronze-medal match to five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan) 3-0, 3-1; she was 22
- https://www.startribune.com/new-ulm-wrestler-follows-trail-blazed-by-other-women/19694114 · June 10, 2008 Star Tribune: the U.S. Olympic trials were held that weekend in Las Vegas and Bernard entered as 'the trials' top seed in her weight class' and 'a surprise national champion at 158.5 pounds', having upset Katie Downing for the national title in April; she followed her brother Andy, the only boy among five Bernard children, into wrestling; she wrestled for the boys' team in New Ulm; two-time junior world champion; named the 2004 girls high school wrestler of the year; recruited on scholarship by Regina coach Leo McGee; this story counts three Canadian college national titles by then, while Augsburg's biography lists four at Regina from 2005 to 2008; the Minnesota-Morris women's team was discontinued in 2005
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2008/07/02/olympicwrestler · July 2, 2008 MPR: the Olympic women's competition was set for one day, Aug. 17; high school coach Dar Arndt on opponents who forfeited rather than wrestle her, saying those boys short-changed themselves; she wrestled at 140 pounds as a sophomore in a 2001 KNUJ radio broadcast; she attended the University of Regina after high school; a bill to ban girl-boy wrestling in Minnesota failed; Chandell Knox was the first woman to wrestle in a Minnesota high school program, at Minneapolis Southwest from 1992 to 1995
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/04/23/ali-bernard-olympic-qualifier · April 23, 2012 MPR: Bernard lost the best-of-three Olympic Trials final in Iowa City to Stephany Lee, 27, of Hawaii, in two decisions; she was the top seed in the division
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/staff-directory/ali-sprenger/546 · Augsburg staff biography: Ali (Bernard) Sprenger, a two-time Olympian and five-time collegiate national champion, joined Augsburg as women's wrestling head coach in August 2023; fifth at 72 kg in Beijing and tied for 13th in London; 2011 World bronze at 72 kg; Junior World titles in 2003 and 2005; 2010 FISU World University Games title; U.S. Open titles in 2004, 2008 and 2011; four U Sports national titles at Regina from 2005 to 2008 and the 2010 title at Alberta; five-time Canada West champion; Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year 2005; Canada West Most Outstanding Wrestler 2007; Regina Female Athlete of the Year 2005, 2006, 2007; Canada West Hall of Fame 2020; New Ulm ISD 88 High School Hall of Fame 2021; assistant coach at Alberta 2009-13; Minnesota-USA Wrestling women's and girls' wrestling director from 2021; Alberta graduate, 2011; lives in Shakopee
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/sports/womens-wrestling/coaches · Augsburg's 2025-26 women's wrestling coaching staff lists Ali Sprenger as head coach
- https://www.nujournal.com/news/local-news/2020/01/06/ali-gives-back-in-nuhs-wrestling-room/ · Jan. 6, 2020 New Ulm Journal: Bernard, of Shakopee, led a girls wrestling practice at New Ulm High School; she wrestled on the New Ulm boys team, earned a scholarship to Regina, studied kinesiology there and finished at Alberta, where she was an assistant coach; she became Minnesota Wrestling assistant women's director in 2014; this story calls her 2008 Olympic finish fourth, which conflicts with the fifth place Team USA, USA Wrestling and Olympedia list.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2012/may/02/ali-bernard-named-2011-usa-wre-25048 · May 2, 2012 USA Wrestling: Bernard named 2011 Women's Wrestler of the Year, the first time she received the award; at the 2011 World Championships in Istanbul she beat Jenny Fransson of Sweden, pinned Olympic champion Jiao Wang of China and pinned Ohenewa Akuffo of Canada, lost the semifinal to Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria and pinned Guzel Manyurova of Kazakhstan for bronze; she won the 2011 World Team Trials in Oklahoma City and the 2011 U.S. Open in Cleveland, both over Iris Smith; Junior World bronze medalist in 2006; she won her first senior U.S. Open title while still in high school and was the 2004 ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year
- https://nwhof.org/news/50-u-s-women-s-wrestling-milestones-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-title-ix · USA Wrestling's 50 U.S. women's wrestling milestones, published by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame: Ali Bernard of Minnesota becomes the first to win two Junior World gold medals for the USA, with a 2003 Junior World title at 67 kg and a 2005 Junior World title at 72 kg
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/779?query=Bernard · USA Wrestling results, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials: Ali Bernard (Gator WC) beat Katie Downing (Sunkist Kids) in both matches of the 72 kg championship series, 2-0, 2-2, 1-0 and 3-2, 1-4, 1-0
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/758?query=Bernard · USA Wrestling results for its April 2008 senior women's freestyle nationals: at 72 kg Ali Bernard (Gator Wrestling Club) pinned Kuuiini Johnson, beat Iris Smith and beat Katie Downing 0-1, 2-2, 1-0 in the final
- https://web.archive.org/web/20150924013119/http://www.fila-official.com/images/documents/annonces/resultats/2009_09/results_herning.pdf · FILA's official results for the 2009 Senior World Championships in Herning, Denmark, Sept. 19 to 28, 2009: Bernard placed 18th of 21 at 72 kg in women's freestyle
- https://www.themat.com/news/2010/may/05/u-s--wins-pan-american-women-s-21947 · May 2010 USA Wrestling: Bernard went 3-0 and beat Leah Callahan of Canada 5-0, 3-0 in the 72 kg final at the Pan American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, on May 1
- https://www.themat.com/news/2010/november/01/update--bernard-wins-gold--ple-22666 · Nov. 1, 2010 USA Wrestling: Bernard won the 72 kg gold at the 2010 FISU University World Championships in Torino, Italy, with four wins, pinning Hiroe Suzuki of Japan in the final; her first University World Championships and her third age-group World title
- https://www.olympedia.org/results/263571 · Olympedia, 2008 women's freestyle 72 kg: all bouts on Aug. 17, 2008; Bernard won by fall over Amarachi Obiajunwa, lost to Wang Jiao, beat Jenny Fransson in the repechage and lost the repechage final to Kyoko Hamaguchi; tied for fifth
- https://www.olympedia.org/results/332782 · Olympedia, 2012 women's freestyle 72 kg: on Aug. 9, 2012 Jenny Fransson of Sweden beat Bernard by decision in round one; Bernard tied for 13th
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2023/7/18/wwr071823.aspx · July 18, 2023 Augsburg release: Ali (Bernard) Sprenger, a two-time Olympian and five-time collegiate national champion, named head coach of the Augsburg University women's wrestling team, replacing Jake Short
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2026/3/24/wwr032426.aspx · March 24, 2026 Augsburg: under third-year head coach Ali Sprenger, Augsburg had eight NWCA Scholar All-Americans, placed 22nd in the 2025-26 NWCA academic team race, went 2-0 in dual meets and placed eighth in NCAA regional competition
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/2025-26 · Augsburg's 2025-26 women's wrestling roster lists Ali Sprenger as head coach
- https://www.canadawesthalloffame.org/post/ali-bernard-wres-student-athlete · Canada West Hall of Fame, Jan. 29, 2020: inducted in the inaugural class as a student-athlete of Regina and Alberta; five-time CIS and Canada West gold medalist (2005-2008, 2010), competing for the Regina Cougars from 2005 to 2008 and for Alberta in 2010; 2005 CIS and Canada West Rookie of the Year; Canada West's most outstanding wrestler in 2007; joined Alberta's wrestling staff for the 2011 season; after retiring from competition she worked as a corporate trainer in Minnesota
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