Helen Maroulis

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Helen Maroulis
Helen Maroulis (29278073625) (cropped).jpg
Maroulis in 2016
Personal information
Full nameHelen Louise Maroulis
NationalityAmerican
BornSeptember 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) (age 29)
Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materSimon Fraser University
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Weight116.5 lb (53 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle
ClubNittany Lion Wrestling Club
Coached byMark Perry
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Medal record
Women's freestyle wrestling
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 53 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 57 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Las Vegas 55 kg
Gold medal – first place 2017 Paris 58 kg
Silver medal – second place 2012 Canada 55 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Tashkent 55 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara 55 kg
Updated on August 23, 2017.

Helen Louise Maroulis (Greek: Ελένη Μαρούλη; 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]

Background[]

Maroulis was born in Rockville, Maryland,[citation needed] the daughter of Paula and Yiannis "John" Maroulis.[2] Her father is Greek.[3] 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[4] and also was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of a tournament by pinning the senior boy who had won that title the year before, all on the way to 99 high school career victories.[5]

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.[6] At the age-group level, Maroulis was a three-time Junior World medalist (bronze in 2008 & 2010, silver in 2011).[2]

She now trains at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University.[2] 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.[7]

Rio 2016[]

Maroulis beat 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.[8] Maroulis attributes a large portion of her success to the coaching of Valentin Kalika.[9]

World Championship 2017[]

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.[10]

Pro Wrestling League[]

On January 16, 2018, Pooja Dhanda defeated Maroulis in the Pro Wrestling League.[11][12]

World Championship 2018[]

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 (concussion from a tournament in January 2018[13]). 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.[14]

Match results[]

World Championships & Olympics
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location
2018 UWW world 21st at 57 kg
Loss 26-7 Azerbaijan Alyona Kolesnik Fall October 24, 2018 2018 World Championships Hungary Budapest
2017 UWW world 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 58 kg
Win 26-6 Tunisia Marwa Amri 11-0 August 23, 2017 2017 World Championship France Paris
Win 25-6 Canada Michelle Fazzari 10-0
Win 24-6 Dominican Republic Yessica Oviedo 11-0
Win 23-6 Sweden Elin Nilsson 10-0
Win 22-6 South Korea Hanbit Kim 10-0
2016 Olympic 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 53 kg
Win 21-6 Japan Saori Yoshida 4-1 August 18, 2016 2016 Summer Olympics Brazil Rio de Janeiro
Win 20-6 Sweden Sofia Mattsson Fall
Win 19-6 North Korea Jong Myong-suk 7-4
Win 18-6 China Zhong Xuechun 10-0
Win 17-6 Ukraine Yuliya Khalvadzhy 12-1
2015 UWW world 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 55 kg
Win 16-6 Russia Irina Ologonova 11-0 September 10, 2015 2015 World Championship United States Las Vegas, NV
Win 15-6 China Pang Qianyu 5-0
Win 14-6 Bulgaria Evelina Nikolova fall
Win 13-6 Mexico Brenda Fernández 10-0
2014 UWW world 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) at 55 kg
Win 12-6 Poland Katarzyna Krawczyk 10-0 September 10, 2014 2014 World Championship Uzbekistan Tashkent
Loss 11-6 Japan Chiho Hamada 2-6
Win 11-5 Mongolia Altansetsegiin Battsetseg fall
Win 10-5 Nicaragua Elverine Jiménez fall
2013 UWW world 7th at 55 kg
Loss 9-5 Bulgaria Mimi Hristova fall September 19, 2013 2013 World Championship Hungary Budapest
Loss 9-4 Sweden Sofia Mattsson 6-7
Win 9-3 Vietnam Phạm Thị Huệ fall
Win 8-3 North Korea Han Kum-ok fall
2012 UWW world 2nd place, silver medalist(s) at 55 kg
Loss 7-3 Japan Saori Yoshida fall September 28, 2012 2012 World Championship Canada Strathcona County, Alberta
Win 7-2 Canada Brittanee Laverdure 5-0, 4-2
Win 6-2 Greece Maria Prevolaraki 3-0, 2-0
Win 5-2 Belarus Nadzeya Mikhalkova fall
2011 UWW world 5th at 55 kg
Loss 4-2 Sweden Ida-Theres Nerell fall September 15, 2011 2011 World Championship Turkey Istanbul
Win 4-1 Mexico Alma Valencia 5-0, 4-0
Win 3-1 Turkey Emriye Musta 6-2, 6-2
Loss 2-1 Japan Saori Yoshida fall
Win 2–0 Bulgaria Valya Trandeva fall
Win 1–0 Kazakhstan Aiyim Abdildina 6-0, 5-2

References[]

  1. ^ "Helen Maroulis to face Venezuela's Marcia Andrades at Beat The Streets". The Open Mat. May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Athlete Bio: Helen Maroulis". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. ^ Chrysopoulos, Philip (August 19, 2016). "Who Is Olympic Gold Medalist Helen Maroulis". USA.GreekReporter.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  4. ^ "Magruder's Maroulis Makes Maryland History".
  5. ^ "Rockville's Maroulis eyes spot on U.S. Olympic women's wrestling squad".
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Ο Κάλαμος τίμησε την Ελένη Μαρούλη
  8. ^ "Helen Maroulis Wins First Gold Medal for U.S. in Women's Wrestling". Time. Time. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Berg, Aimee (August 20, 2016). "Helen Maroulis Trained With Champions To Become the First American Woman Wrestler to Win Gold". Sports.Vice.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  10. ^ "Helen Maroulis' dominance continues as she wins gold at world championships".
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Scroll Staff. "PWL: Pooja Dhanda stuns Olympic champion Helen Maroulis again as Punjab Royals defend title". Scroll.in. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  13. ^ "Helen Maroulis wrestled in the dark with concussion". May 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "Helen Maroulis' world championships streak ends after life-altering year". October 24, 2018.

External links[]

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