American freestyle wrestler
Helen Louise Maroulis
(born September 19, 1991) is an American
freestyle wrestler
who competes in the women's 55-kg, 53-kg, and 57-kg categories. She was a gold medalist at the
2015 World Wrestling Championships
in
Las Vegas
,
Nevada
and a gold medalist at the
2011 Pan American Games
in
Guadalajara
,
Mexico
. At the
2016 Summer Olympics
in
Rio de Janeiro
,
Brazil
, she became the first-ever American to win a gold medal in women's freestyle wrestling at the Olympic Games.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Background
[
edit
]
Maroulis was born in
Rockville, Maryland
,
[3]
the daughter of Paula and Yiannis "John" Maroulis.
[4]
Her father is Greek.
[5]
She attended
Magruder High School
for three years, where as a freshman she became the first female wrestler to place at the
Maryland
state wrestling championships.
[6]
She was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler of a tournament, by pinning a senior boy who had won the year before, and finished high school with 99 career victories.
[7]
She then moved to
Marquette Senior High School
in
Marquette, Michigan
and then went to join
Missouri Baptist University
women's wrestling team in Saint Louis, Missouri, before ultimately transferring to compete for
Simon Fraser University
in Burnaby,
British Columbia
,
Canada
.
[8]
At the age-group level, Maroulis was a three-time Junior World medalist (bronze in 2008 & 2010, silver in 2011).
[4]
As of 2014, she trained at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at
Northern Michigan University
.
[4]
Her grandparents emigrated to the United States from the Greek island
Kalamos
in the 1960s. Maroulis visited her father's island a few weeks after her victory at Rio, and was given an award by the local community.
[9]
Rio Summer Olympics 2016
[
edit
]
Maroulis beat Japan's
Saori Yoshida
4?1 to win a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This was the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in a women's wrestling event.
[10]
World Championship 2017
[
edit
]
Maroulis won her third consecutive gold medal at the world championships or Olympics defeating Olympic bronze medalist Marwa Amri of Tunisia in the finals of the 58-kilogram/128-pound weight class with an 11-0 technical fall.
[11]
Pro Wrestling League
[
edit
]
On January 16, 2018,
Pooja Dhanda
defeated Maroulis in the Pro Wrestling League.
[12]
[13]
World Championship 2018
[
edit
]
Maroulis was defeated in the first round by fall by Azerbaijan's Alyona Kolesnik, a shocking upset for the defending world and Olympic champion. The defeat has been attributed to a serious head injury (a concussion from a tournament in January 2018).
[14]
As Maroulis stated in post-match interview "I'm so used to telling someone, hey, don't touch my head." The injury was significant enough to cause Maroulis to delay her world team qualifier match, and significantly limited her live sparring prior to the event. It is reported that she was so limited by the injury that she only returned to live practice about 10 days before her rescheduled qualifying series.
[15]
Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020
[
edit
]
Maroulis won a bronze medal by defeating Mongolia's Khongorzul Boldsaikhan after losing to
Risako Kawai
of Japan in the 57 kg semifinals. With the bronze medal, Maroulis became the first female wrestler in U.S. history to win two Olympic medals.
[16]
Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix 2022
[
edit
]
Maroulis won a gold medal in the 57 kg finals by forfeit as her opponent
Olga Khoroshavtseva
of Russia withdrew.
[17]
[18]
2024
[
edit
]
In 2024, she won the gold medal in the women's 57
kg event at the
Pan American Wrestling Championships
held in Acapulco, Mexico.
[19]
She defeated
Giullia Penalber
of Brazil in her gold medal match.
[19]
Also in 2024, she became the first female American wrestler to have qualified for three Olympics, upon qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
[20]
Match results
[
edit
]
World Championships & Olympics
|
Res.
|
Record
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Date
|
Event
|
Location
|
2021
UWW
world
at 57 kg
|
Win
|
32-7
|
Anshu Malik
|
Fall
|
October 7, 2021
|
2021 World Championship
|
Oslo
|
Win
|
31-7
|
Veronika Chumikova
|
10?1
|
October 6, 2021
|
Win
|
30-7
|
Jeannie Kessler
|
Fall
|
2020
Olympic
at 57 kg
|
Win
|
29-7
|
Boldsaikhany Khongorzul
|
11-0
|
August 5, 2021
|
2020 Summer Olympics
|
Tokyo
|
Loss
|
28-7
|
Risako Kawai
|
1?2
|
August 4, 2021
|
Win
|
28-6
|
Tetyana Kit
|
8-0
|
Win
|
27-6
|
Rong Ningning
|
8-4
|
2018
UWW
world 21st at 57 kg
|
Loss
|
26-7
|
Alyona Kolesnik
|
Fall
|
October 24, 2018
|
2018 World Championships
|
Budapest
|
2017
UWW
world
at 58 kg
|
Win
|
26-6
|
Marwa Amri
|
11-0
|
August 23, 2017
|
2017 World Championship
|
Paris
|
Win
|
25-6
|
Michelle Fazzari
|
10-0
|
Win
|
24-6
|
Yessica Oviedo
|
11-0
|
Win
|
23-6
|
Elin Nilsson
|
10-0
|
Win
|
22-6
|
Hanbit Kim
|
10-0
|
2016
Olympic
at 53 kg
|
Win
|
21-6
|
Saori Yoshida
|
4-1
|
August 18, 2016
|
2016 Summer Olympics
|
Rio de Janeiro
|
Win
|
20-6
|
Sofia Mattsson
|
Fall
|
Win
|
19-6
|
Jong Myong-suk
|
7-4
|
Win
|
18-6
|
Zhong Xuechun
|
10-0
|
Win
|
17-6
|
Yuliya Khalvadzhy
|
12-1
|
2015
UWW
world
at 55 kg
|
Win
|
16-6
|
Irina Ologonova
|
11-0
|
September 10, 2015
|
2015 World Championship
|
Las Vegas
,
NV
|
Win
|
15-6
|
Pang Qianyu
|
5-0
|
Win
|
14-6
|
Evelina Nikolova
|
fall
|
Win
|
13-6
|
Brenda Fernandez
|
10-0
|
2014
UWW
world
at 55 kg
|
Win
|
12-6
|
Katarzyna Krawczyk
|
10-0
|
September 10, 2014
|
2014 World Championship
|
Tashkent
|
Loss
|
11-6
|
Chiho Hamada
|
2-6
|
Win
|
11-5
|
Altansetsegiin Battsetseg
|
fall
|
Win
|
10-5
|
Elverine Jimenez
|
fall
|
2013
UWW
world 7th at 55 kg
|
Loss
|
9-5
|
Mimi Hristova
|
fall
|
September 19, 2013
|
2013 World Championship
|
Budapest
|
Loss
|
9-4
|
Sofia Mattsson
|
6-7
|
Win
|
9-3
|
Ph?m Th? Hu?
|
fall
|
Win
|
8-3
|
Han Kum-ok
|
fall
|
2012
UWW
world
at 55 kg
|
Loss
|
7-3
|
Saori Yoshida
|
fall
|
September 28, 2012
|
2012 World Championship
|
Strathcona County
,
Alberta
|
Win
|
7-2
|
Brittanee Laverdure
|
5-0, 4-2
|
Win
|
6-2
|
Maria Prevolaraki
|
3-0, 2-0
|
Win
|
5-2
|
Nadzeya Mikhalkova
|
fall
|
2011
UWW
world 5th at 55 kg
|
Loss
|
4-2
|
Ida-Theres Nerell
|
fall
|
September 15, 2011
|
2011 World Championship
|
Istanbul
|
Win
|
4-1
|
Alma Valencia
|
5-0, 4-0
|
Win
|
3-1
|
Emriye Musta
|
6-2, 6-2
|
Loss
|
2-1
|
Saori Yoshida
|
fall
|
Win
|
2?0
|
Valya Trandeva
|
fall
|
Win
|
1?0
|
Aiyim Abdildina
|
6-0, 5-2
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Helen Maroulis to face Venezuela's Marcia Andrades at Beat The Streets"
.
The Open Mat
. May 4, 2014. Archived from
the original
on May 8, 2014
. Retrieved
May 7,
2014
.
- ^
Goldich, Mitch (July 19, 2021).
"Q&A: Helen Maroulis's Difficult Path Back to the Olympics"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
March 19,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Woodyatt, Amy (April 11, 2023).
"Helen Maroulis: Concussions left her on the 'edge of insanity.' Now, this Olympic wrestler is back and has titles in her sights"
. CNN
. Retrieved
June 4,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Athlete Bio: Helen Maroulis"
.
TeamUSA.org
. Archived from
the original
on November 2, 2016
. Retrieved
May 7,
2014
.
- ^
Chrysopoulos, Philip (August 19, 2016).
"Who Is Olympic Gold Medalist Helen Maroulis"
.
USA.GreekReporter.com
. Retrieved
August 28,
2016
.
- ^
"Magruder's Maroulis Makes Maryland History"
.
- ^
"Rockville's Maroulis eyes spot on U.S. Olympic women's wrestling squad - Washington Times"
.
- ^
"Simon Fraser University | Canada Clan Alumna Helen Maroulis Wins Wrestling Gold for USA at Rio 2016"
.
Athletics.sfu.ca
. August 18, 2016
. Retrieved
August 28,
2016
.
- ^
"Ο Κ?λαμο? τ?μησε την Ολυμπιον?κη Ελ?νη Μαρο?λη - aromalefkadas - Ενημερωτικ? ιστοσελ?δα τη? Λευκ?δα?"
.
- ^
"Helen Maroulis Wins First Gold Medal for U.S. in Women's Wrestling"
.
Time
. Archived from
the original
on September 17, 2016
. Retrieved
August 18,
2016
.
- ^
"Helen Maroulis' dominance continues as she wins gold at world championships"
.
USA Today
.
- ^
"Pro Wrestling League: Pooja Dhanda stuns Olympic champion Helen Marouli as Punjab Royals beat Haryana Hammers - Firstpost"
.
www.firstpost.com
. January 17, 2018
. Retrieved
April 13,
2018
.
- ^
Scroll Staff.
"PWL: Pooja Dhanda stuns Olympic champion Helen Maroulis again as Punjab Royals defend title"
.
Scroll.in
. Retrieved
April 13,
2018
.
- ^
"Helen Maroulis wrestled in the dark with concussion"
. May 16, 2018.
- ^
"Helen Maroulis' world championships streak ends after life-altering year"
. October 24, 2018.
- ^
"Helen Maroulis didn't need history-making bronze to prove Olympic success isn't measured in medals"
.
USA Today
. August 5, 2021.
- ^
"Maroulis Wins Gold, Kilty Silver, Snyder and Nolf Advance to Yariguin Finals"
. January 29, 2022. Archived from
the original
on January 30, 2022.
- ^
"Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2022 Results Book"
(PDF)
.
United World Wrestling
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 16, 2022
. Retrieved
February 27,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book"
(PDF)
.
United World Wrestling
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 28, 2024
. Retrieved
March 5,
2024
.
- ^
"Maroulis makes history, reaches Olympics again"
.
ESPN.com
. April 21, 2024.
External links
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