Women's Wrestling Club

Wrestlers · Senior level

Helen Maroulis

First U.S. woman to win Olympic wrestling gold; 4x world champion; 3x Olympic medalist

Rockville, MD · Magruder HS · Simon Fraser

By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026

Helen Maroulis
Photo: Tim Hipps, U.S. Army IMCOM, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Helen Maroulis grew up in Rockville, Maryland, and wrestled at Colonel Zadok Magruder High School under coach Max Sartoph, competing mostly against boys. As a freshman she became the first girl to place at the Montgomery Region 3A/4A West and Maryland state tournaments. She placed sixth at the state tournament in 2006 and 2008 and finished three seasons there with a record of 99-26. For her senior year, 2008-09, she moved to Marquette, Michigan, to train at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan. In 2008 she took bronze at 51 kg at the Junior World Championships.

She enrolled at Missouri Baptist University, coached by Brian Jackson, and won the WCWA national title at 59 kg in 2010 (the WCWA used kilogram classes through 2011). She transferred to Simon Fraser University, coached by Mike Jones, and won a WCWA title at 55 kg in 2011, then two more at 130 pounds in 2013 and 2014. She added Junior World silver in 2011 and Senior World silver in 2012, both at 55 kg.

Maroulis won her first World title at 55 kg in 2015 in Las Vegas. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro she beat Saori Yoshida of Japan 4-1 in the 53 kg final, the first Olympic wrestling gold by an American woman. She won World titles at 58 kg in 2017 and 57 kg in 2021, and took Olympic bronze at 57 kg in Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024. In September 2025 in Zagreb she won her fourth World title at 57 kg, beating Il Sim Son of North Korea 3-2 with a takedown in the final six seconds.

She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and wrestles for Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. She won the 57 kg spot on the 2026 U.S. World Team at Final X in Newark, beating Amanda Martinez 8-1 and 6-0, and wrestles at the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and wrestles for Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. She holds the 57 kg spot on the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team and wrestles at the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Results

SeasonLevelEventWeightPlaceNote
2008High schoolMaryland State Wrestling Tournament6th99-26 (three-year Magruder career). Also placed 6th in 2006; wrestled on the boys' team at Magruder High School, coached by Max Sartoph
2008Age groupJunior World Championships51 kg3rd
2010CollegeWCWA National Championships, Marshall, Mo.59 kg1stCompeting for Missouri Baptist
2011CollegeWCWA National Championships, Atherton, Calif.55 kg1stCompeting for Simon Fraser
2013CollegeWCWA National Championships, Bristol, Tenn.130 pounds1stCompeting for Simon Fraser; def. Shauna Isbell of Lindenwood in the final
2014CollegeWCWA National Championships, St. Louis130 pounds1stCompeting for Simon Fraser; pinned Rachel McFarland of Oklahoma City in 1:10 in the final; fourth WCWA title
2011Age groupJunior World Championships55 kg2nd
2012SeniorWorld Championships55 kg2ndFirst Senior World medal
2015SeniorWorld Championships, Las Vegas55 kg1stFirst World title
2016SeniorOlympic Games, Rio de Janeiro53 kg1stdef. Saori Yoshida (JPN) 4-1; first U.S. woman to win Olympic wrestling gold
2017SeniorWorld Championships, Paris58 kg1st
2021SeniorOlympic Games, Tokyo57 kg3rd
2021SeniorWorld Championships, Oslo57 kg1stThird World title
2024SeniorOlympic Games, Paris57 kg3rdThird Olympic medal
2025SeniorWorld Championships, Zagreb57 kg1stdef. Il Sim Son (PRK) 3-2 in the final; three falls en route; fourth World title
2026SeniorFinal X, Newark57 kg1stdef. Amanda Martinez 8-1, 6-0; 2026 U.S. World Team

What we could not confirm

Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.

Sources

  1. https://www.themat.com/profiles/helen-maroulis · Hometown Rockville, MD; born September 19, 1991; residence Scottsdale, Ariz.; club Titan Mercury WC; Magruder HS coach Max Sartoph; sixth at Maryland state tournament 2006 and 2008; senior year at Marquette Senior High / U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan; Missouri Baptist (Brian Jackson) then Simon Fraser (Mike Jones); four WCWA titles (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014); Junior World bronze 2008 (51 kg), silver 2011 (55 kg); Senior World medal list including 2012 silver; Team USA 2009-10 through 2026-27
  2. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshall/html/maroulis.html · Born in Rockville; attended Cashell Elementary, Redland Middle, Magruder High School; wrestled mostly against males in high school, some coaches forfeited; first female to place at Montgomery Region 3A/4A West and Maryland state tournaments as a freshman; three-year Magruder record 99-26; left senior year for Olympic Training Center in Michigan
  3. https://nmuwildcats.com/news/2024/7/16/general-nmu-at-the-paris-olympic-games-2024-helen-maroulis.aspx · Member of the Olympic Training Site program at Northern Michigan 2008-09 while attending Marquette High School (senior year, so 2009 graduation)
  4. https://athletics.sfu.ca/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/helen-maroulis/1062 · SFU roster: hometown Rockville, Md.; high school Marquette Senior High; previous school Missouri Baptist University; roster weight 55 kg in 2013-14 (roster listing only, no bio and no title weights)
  5. https://nwhof.org/news/wrestling-milestone-ten-years-of-womens-college-national-wrestling-tournaments · WCWA 2010 champion at 59 kg for Missouri Baptist (Marshall, Mo.); WCWA 2011 champion at 55 kg for Simon Fraser (Atherton, Calif.)
  6. https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/helen-maroulis · Olympic gold 2016 53 kg; Olympic bronze 2020 (Tokyo) and 2024 at 57 kg; World medals 2012 through 2025; education Simon Fraser University
  7. https://uww.org/athletes/maroulis-helen-louise · World titles 2015 (USA, 55 kg), 2017 (France, 58 kg), 2021 (Norway, 57 kg), 2025 (Croatia, 57 kg); Olympic medals 2016 gold 53 kg, 2021 bronze 57 kg, 2024 bronze 57 kg
  8. https://uww.org/article/helen-maroulis-makes-history-upends-saori-yoshida-rio-2016 · Rio 2016 53 kg final: Maroulis def. Saori Yoshida 4-1, two second-period takedowns; first American woman to win Olympic wrestling gold
  9. https://www.themat.com/news/2025/september/17/maroulis-finds-way-to-fourth-world-title-welker-claims-back-to-back-bronze-at-world-championships · 2025 World Championships, Zagreb, Sept. 17, 2025: def. Il Sim Son (PRK) 3-2 in the 57 kg final with a takedown at six seconds left; falls over Cakmak, Tokuhara, Khoroshavtseva; fourth World title, eighth World medal
  10. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/april/06/helen-maroulis-accepts-57-kg-women-s-freestyle-berth-at-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · Accepted 57 kg berth at 2026 Final X, June 19, 2026, Prudential Center, Newark; fourth World title in Zagreb; residence Scottsdale, Ariz.; Titan Mercury WC
  11. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/19/live-updates-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · 2026 Final X 57 kg: Maroulis dec. Martinez 8-1 and 6-0, won best-of-three series
  12. https://www.themat.com/2026-final-x · Final X winners make the 2026 U.S. World Team
  13. https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2013/1/30/WWREST_0130133304_14492.aspx?path=clay · 2013 WCWA National Championship, concluded January 27 in Bristol, Tenn.: Helen Maroulis (Simon Fraser) first at 130 pounds, Shauna Isbell (Lindenwood) second; Simon Fraser won the team title
  14. https://www.ocusports.com/news/2014/1/25/WWREST_0125144908.aspx · 2014 WCWA National Championship at the Petty Complex in St. Louis: Maroulis (Simon Fraser) pinned Rachel McFarland (Oklahoma City) in 1:10 for the 130-pound title
  15. https://nwhof.org/news/anthony-maroulis-trophy-will-be-presented-to-usa-wrestling-s-women-s-college-wrestler-of-the-year · Maroulis and Victoria Anthony each won a fourth WCWA national title in 2014 as Simon Fraser teammates, Maroulis at 130 pounds
  16. https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15998173-when-is-the-2026-senior-world-championships · 2026 Senior World Championships are in Astana, Kazakhstan, October 24 through November 1, 2026

Your turn

Every program in the country that has a women's team, with the coach's published email, is in the college directory.

The newsletter

One email. The rules, the gear, the college path.

For wrestlers, parents, and coaches. Same standard as the site: every number sourced, no filler, unsubscribe any time.