Helen Maroulis faced retirement but is headed to Tokyo to defend her gold medal

Against all odds, Helen Maroulis will head to Tokyo in 2021 to defend her Olympic gold medal.

Helen Maroulis started defying the odds when she was only seven years old. Maroulis had both an older and younger brother who were giving wrestling a try and Maroulis eventually wanted to play too.

Girl wrestlers were far from the norm in the late 1990s in Rockville, Maryland, or really anywhere. But Maroulis quickly fell in love with the sport and started dreaming about blazing her own path. Job number one — convince her parents that she should be allowed to stick with wrestling after forays into dance, ballet and diving.

“My parents they didn’t think I was going to be a wrestler,” Maroulis told FanSided. “I don’t think they really wanted me to at first. They actually made me quit after my first year because it wasn’t an Olympic sport. Later that summer the IOC announced that it was going to be added. My parents came back and said, yeah if this is what you want to do, you can do it.”

Parental approval was one important step, but the obstacles were just beginning. There were teachers who assumed Maroulis wanted to wrestle to flirt with the boys, or that she was using drugs to keep her weight down. Maroulis was under attack,

Then came coaches from other high schools who defaulted matches rather than wrestle Maroulis. Despite the added challenges, Maroulis kept going brushing aside the negative.

“I really believe when you love what you do you’ll just keep doing it right,” Maroulis asked rhetorically. “A lot of people think you have to be tough to be a wrestler and I’m like no, I was not tough, I was really shy. I cried for every other sport I ever did. The instructors would ask my mom not to bring me back. Wrestling was just the sport for me. I think love is the best motivator.”

That love carried Maroulis all the way on a wild journey to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she became the first American woman to win wrestling gold. Maroulis upset heavy favorite, three-time Olympic gold medalist and 13-time World champion, Saori Yoshida of Japan 4-1. Yoshida had pinned her in their two prior matches.

A series of scary put concussions nearly pushed Helen Maroulis out of wrestling

It was a career-defining win that put Maroulis on top of the world. But only two years later, Maroulis found herself fighting for her life with her wrestling career in jeopardy after suffering multiple concussions wrestling in a pro league in India.

“It was really life-changing,” Maroulis said. “One minute you are on top of the world, your body is this vessel and I can do so much with it. The next moment you are laying in bed all day hoping to not have symptoms, hoping that one day you’ll have just a normal life, not even thinking about coming back to athletics.”

Maroulis was admitted against her will into a mental institution to be treated for PTSD. She started to learn about a subject that was foreign to her, but she quickly became interested in.

“I love the brain training that I did because it’s actually helped me a lot in realizing how powerful our minds are and just the neuroplasticity and the ability to heal, I really believe in that,” Maroulis said.

Maroulis did heal and her life is back to wrestling normal. She was back on the mat on April 3 trying to qualify for Tokyo 2021, which she did pinning Jenna Burkett in an emotional match.

The only thing left to do is bring home the gold once again. You can bet Maroulis will get it her all.

Helen Maroulis is working with P&G and their latest Olympics Campaign inspired by the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are stepping up to take action for good, making a positive difference in their own communities and the world. 

Additionally, Helen is a recipient of the Athletes for Good Fund, which celebrates and fuels the work of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls who are partnering with charitable causes around the world. In partnership with When We Band Together, Helen raises awareness and funds to continue supporting displaced people and refugees.