Nelly Rico wasn't in Beijing to see her 21-year-old son become the youngest American wrestler to win a freestyle gold. There had been plans for her to make the trip. Another Cejudo brother, Alonzo, and a sister, Gloria, were there. So was Frank Saenz, Henry's former high school coach who wore a black-and-gold Maryvale High School wrestling shirt and sobbed when Cejudo won by overpowering Matsunaga with three points in the second period.

They cheered so loudly and were on their feet so often during the match that Chinese security threatened to throw them out of the building.

"We didn't want that to happen," Alonzo said. "But, hey, he's your brother, man. What are you gonna do?

Henry said his mom stayed in the United States to care for Angel's child in Colorado Springs, where he and Angel have been living and training for the last few years. There were other reports from Olympic officials that she could not get into China because of passport problems. She is not a U.S. citizen.

"She is a resident," Henry said, somewhat cryptically.

Cejudo's mom is from Mexico City. She and Henry's dad, Jorge, moved as undocumented immigrants to Los Angeles, where Henry was born in 1987. His dad was in and out of California jails. When Henry was 4, his parents split. He saw his father only one more time before his dad died about 16 months ago from reported heart failure in Mexico City.

"Our mom protected us from a lot of stuff," Angel said. "She just never talked about anything bad that ever happened."

Henry wanted to go see his dad in Mexico City. But his brothers talked him out of it after hearing stories that Alonzo, still a Phoenix resident, said disgusted him.

The father is another question that gets asked repeatedly. It was there again, not long after Cejudo got his gold and heard the Star Spangled Banner.

"It's that whole victimhood thing again," Henry said. "I've moved on. My dad, he's in a better place now." On Tuesday, he only wanted to get home to see mom. Nelly Rico will get the gold medal, said Henry, who — after dropping 10 pounds in less than 24 hours to make weight Monday — was looking forward to some of mom's cooking.

"I just want to eat a plate of my mom's ceviche and some of that Mexican food she makes," said Cejudo, still wrapped in a flag as American as a cheeseburger.