“An historic gold was won Thursday in the women’s freestyle 53-kilogram wrestling final at the Rio Olympics”.
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Japan’s Saori Yoshida, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, had lost only twice in 14 years before Maroulis’ stunning victory Thursday.
Maroulis, lives in Huntington Beach, where she shares a room with teammate Elena Pirozhkova, who was set to wrestle for a bronze medal Thursday in the 63-kg class.
Maroulis trains with Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club in Tempe, Arizona. In the flyweight, lightweight and middleweight divisions, it had claimed seven of the nine available gold medals. With three gold medals, not to mention 13 world championships, to her credit Yoshida is an all-time great in the sport.
Maroulis, a 24-year-old from Rockville, Md., was down 1-0 after the first 3-minute period due to a passivity warning. She was even inconsolable while receiving her silver medal on the podium.
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Maroulis, meanwhile, ran around the arena with an American flag above her head, then cried tears of joy with a gold medal around her neck while the USA national anthem played. She won Olympic gold in the discontinued under-55kg weight class in Athens, Beijing and London and has won every world championship at that weight (or, since 2014, under-53kg) since 2002.
