Helen Maroulis

Helen Maroulis

Maroulis in 2016
Personal information
Born (1991-09-19) September 19, 1991
Rockville, Maryland
Alma mater Simon Fraser University
Height 5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Sport
Country USA
Sport Wrestling
Club Sunkist Kids
Coached by Valentin Kalika
Updated on 1 July 2016.

Helen Maroulis (born September 19, 1991) is a Greek-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, the daughter of Paula and Yiannis "John" Maroulis.[2] Her father is Greek.[3] She attended Magruder High School, home of two-time wrestling state champion John Holloway, for three years and 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.[4] 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. Yoshida was the most decorated freestyle wrestler of all time (with gold medals from the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics). This was the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in a women's wrestling event.[5] Maroulis attributes a large portion of her success to the coaching of Valentin Kalika.[6]

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. 1 2 "Athlete Bio: Helen Maroulis". TeamUSA.org. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. Chrysopoulos, Philip. "Who Is Olympic Gold Medalist Helen Maroulis". USA.GreekReporter.com. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  4. "Simon Fraser University | Canada Clan Alumna Helen Maroulis Wins Wrestling Gold for USA at Rio 2016". Athletics.sfu.ca. 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  5. "Helen Maroulis Wins First Gold Medal for U.S. in Women's Wrestling". Time. Time. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
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