 Picture from the 2021 World Wrestling Championships – Day 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Helen Louise Maroulis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) (age 34) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Simon Fraser University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | helenmaroulis.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 57 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Terry Steiner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Helen Louise Maroulis (/məˈruːlɪs/mə-ROO-liss; born September 19, 1991)[1] is an Americanfreestyle wrestler who competes in the women's 55-kg, 53-kg, and 57-kg categories. She has won four gold medals at the World Championships, the first in 2015 and most recently in 2025. At the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro,Brazil, she became the first-ever American to win a gold medal in women's freestyle wrestling at the Olympic Games.[2][3][4]
She currently competes in the Flyweight division ofReal American Freestyle (RAF), where she is the currentRAF Women's Flyweight Champion.
Maroulis was born inRockville, Maryland,[4] the daughter of Paula and Yiannis "John" Maroulis.[5] Her father is Greek.[6] She attendedMagruder High School for three years, where as a freshman she became the first female wrestler to place at theMaryland state wrestling championships.[7] Maroulis 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.[8]
She then moved toMarquette Senior High School inMarquette, Michigan and then went to joinMissouri Baptist University women's wrestling team in Saint Louis, Missouri, before ultimately transferring to compete forSimon Fraser University in Burnaby,British Columbia,Canada.[9] At the age-group level, Maroulis was a three-time Junior World medalist (bronze in 2008 & 2010, silver in 2011).[5] Maroulis converted toChristianity while in college, and found comfort in religion after failing to qualify for the2012 Summer Olympics.[10]
As of 2014, she trained at the U.S. Olympic Education Center atNorthern Michigan University.[5]Her grandparents emigrated to the United States from the Greek islandKalamos 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.[11]
Maroulis beat Japan'sSaori Yoshida 4–1 to win a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.[12] This was the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in a women's wrestling event.[13]
Maroulis won her third consecutive gold medal at the world championships or Olympics, defeating Olympic bronze medalist Marwa Amri of Tunisia in the final of the 58-kilogram/128-pound weight class with an 11-0 technical fall.[14]
On January 16, 2018,Pooja Dhanda defeated Maroulis in the Pro Wrestling League.[15][16]
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 was attributed to a serious head injury (a concussion from a tournament in January 2018).[17] As Maroulis stated in post-match interview, "I'm so used to telling someone, hey, don't touch my head." The injury caused Maroulis to delay her world team qualifier match, and significantly limited her live sparring prior to the event. It was reported she was so limited by the injury that she only returned to live practice about 10 days before her rescheduled qualifying series.[18]
Maroulis won a bronze medal by defeating Mongolia's Khongorzul Boldsaikhan after controversially losing toRisako 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.[19]
Maroulis won a gold medal in the 57 kg final by forfeit as her opponentOlga Khoroshavtseva of Russia withdrew.[20][21]
In 2024, she won the gold medal in the women's 57 kg event at thePan American Wrestling Championships held in Acapulco, Mexico.[22] She defeatedGiullia Penalber of Brazil in her gold medal match.[22]
In 2024, she became the first female American wrestler to have qualified for three Olympics, upon qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.[23] She qualified for the Olympics at the2024 United States Olympic trials held in State College, Pennsylvania.[citation needed]
On August 9, 2024, she won the bronze medal in the 57 kg women's freestyle wrestling event with a victory overHannah Taylor of Canada.[24]
Maroulis made herBrazilian jiu-jitsu debut at theIBJJF No Gi World Championship 2024, where she competed in the lightweight blue belt division.[25] She won all five matches and a took a gold medal in her weight class.[26]
She signed withReal American Freestyle (RAF), and defeatedSamantha Stewart atRAF 02 to become the inauguralRAF Women's Flyweight Champion.[27]
| World Championships & Olympics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Score | Date | Event | Location | |
2024Olympic at 57 kg | |||||||
| Win | 35-8 |  Hannah Taylor | 4-0 | August 9, 2024 | 2024 Summer Olympics |  Paris | |
| Loss | 34-8 |  Tsugumi Sakurai | 4–10 | August 8, 2024 | |||
| Win | 34-7 |  Alina Hrushyna | 7-4 | ||||
| Win | 33-7 |  Anshu Malik | 7-2 | ||||
2021UWW 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 | ||||
| 2020Olympic at 57 kg | |||||||
| Win | 29-7 |  Boldsaikhan 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 | ||||
| 2018UWW world 21st at 57 kg | |||||||
| Loss | 26-7 |  Alyona Kolesnik | Fall | October 24, 2018 | 2018 World Championships |  Budapest | |
| 2017UWW 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 | ||||
| 2016Olympic 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 | ||||
| 2015UWW 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 Fernández | 10-0 | ||||
| 2014UWW 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 Jiménez | fall | ||||
| 2013UWW 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 |  Phạm Thị Huệ | fall | ||||
| Win | 8-3 | Han Kum-ok | fall | ||||
2012UWW 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 | ||||
| 2011UWW 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 | ||||
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