Gold medalist aims to stay on wrestling mat
After making history in her sport, Olympic gold medalist Helen Maroulis believes she has a role to fill in wrestling.
She is the first American woman to win Olympic gold since women were allowed to compete in the sport in the 2004 Athens Games.
While she has said she’s open to exploring a career in mixed martial arts, her heart belongs to wrestling for now.
Ronda Rousey, the popular former UFC champion, gave a shout-out to Maroulis on Instagram after the wrestler’s win in Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s cool to see Ronda Rousey, (who) went from Olympic medalist to MMA champion. That’s awesome to see,” Maroulis said when asked about MMA on Wednesday. “And it definitely is tempting. It seems like it would be a lot of fun to do.
“Right now I love wrestling. Wrestling ’s always been my passion. I think being America’s first gold medalist, I feel like it’s not a duty, it’s a responsibility, but it’s also an honor. It’s a joy for me to stick around in this sport and to inspire these young girls and to help them achieve their dreams in wrestling. So I don’t want to walk away from this sport anytime soon.”
American women set a record in Rio, winning 61 medals across all sports. Maroulis made history in wrestling by beating threetime Olympic gold medalist Saori Yoshida of Japan.
Maroulis’ social media accounts exploded after her win, and she had tweets from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama.
“I was shocked. I was in my bubble leading up to the competition. I didn’t really think about media or what this gold medal could do, I really just thought about the journey for myself and what I wanted to accomplish,” said Maroulis, 24. “So to know that people watched women’s wrestling and that they paid attention to it and that they knew that history was made, this was awesome. I hope this generates change and growth in women’s wrestling. That’s always been my goal, to give back to the sport that gave so much to me.”
Spending a few days in the Washington, D.C., area — her parents live in Rockville, Md. — Maroulis has appeared at a Nationals game and was asked to give an impromptu speech to the Baltimore Ravens before a game.
After a couple of weeks off and a vacation, Maroulis said, she’ll resume training for a Golden Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, in late November.
And she’s already starting to think about 2020.
“I love what I do, so I can’t wait to get back on the mat again,” she said. “I definitely still plan to wrestle through 2020. That was always the goal. I know these next four years, it’s going to be different from the last, that it’s going to present new challenges. But this is what I love about sport: It teaches you a lot about yourself, it challenges you and it’s a platform for you to grow and develop. So I’m excited for what’s ahead.”