Helen Maroulis
_(cropped).jpg) Maroulis in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Helen Louise Maroulis |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | September 19, 1991 (age 33) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Simon Fraser University |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) |
| Weight | 116.5 lb (53 kg) |
| Life partner | Mitchell Rainwater |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Wrestling |
| Event | Freestyle |
| Club | Sunkist Kids |
| Coached by | Valentin Kalika |
Medal record | |
| Updated on August 23, 2017 | |
Helen Louise Maroulis (born September 19, 1991) is an American freestyle wrestler who competes in the women's 55-kg and 53-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]
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.
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.[7] Maroulis attributes a large portion of her success to the coaching of Valentin Kalika.[8]
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.[9]
Pro Wrestling League
On January 16, 2018, Pooja Dhanda defeated Maroulis in the Pro Wrestling League.[10][11]
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[12]). 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.[13]
Match results
References
- ^ "Helen Maroulis to face Venezuela's Marcia Andrades at Beat The Streets". The Open Mat. May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ a b "Athlete Bio: Helen Maroulis". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Chrysopoulos, Philip. "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".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/08/23/helen-maroulis-dominance-continues-gold-world-championships/595506001/
- ^ "Pro Wrestling League: Pooja Dhanda stuns Olympic champion Helen Marouli as Punjab Royals beat Haryana Hammers - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. 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.
- ^ https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/05/16/helen-maroulis-wrestling-concussion/
- ^ https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/10/24/helen-maroulis-wrestling-world-championships/
External links
- {{UWW}} template missing ID.
- Helen Maroulis at Team USA (archived)
- Helen Maroulis at Olympics.com
- "Helen Maroulis at Rio2016.com". Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Helen Maroulis Website
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- American female sport wrestlers
- American people of Greek descent
- 1991 births
- Living people
- Wrestlers at the 2011 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
- American sportswomen
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Olympic wrestlers of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games medalists in wrestling
- Sportspeople from Rockville, Maryland
- Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games