Helen Maroulis, the first American woman to win a gold medal in wrestling, earned a spot on the U.S. team in Paris on Saturday night, becoming the first American female wrestler to qualify for three Summer Games. Ta. Video above: 100 days left until the 2024 Paris Olympics Maroulis competed in the 57kg weight class, where she dominated former Olympian Jakara Winchester in a best-of-three series. Maroulis, her two-time Olympic medalist, swept the series, defeating Winchester by pin in the first match and a 6-0 decision in the second match. Maroulis, with a bleeding nose, bowed to a crowd of cheering fans as she was raised in the arms of officials at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's campus. “I don't think she would have believed it if I was going to do something like this,” Maroulis said, adding that she had no idea she was breaking the record. She Maroulis became the first female wrestler for the United States to win two Olympic medals. She won a bronze medal in the 57kg category at the Tokyo Olympics. Now 32 years old, she won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. “I definitely think we're in the middle of our best season,” Maroulis said. Maroulis, a Maryland native, is wrestling and training at Sunkist's powerhouse club, Sunkist. Arizona Winchester represented the United States in the 53kg weight class at the Tokyo Olympics and was the world champion in the 55kg weight class in 2019. Winchester was originally scheduled to wrestle at 53kg, but she was unable to reach her standard weight and had to increase her weight to 57kg. All six women who earned spots on the U.S. team Saturday qualified directly for this summer's Olympics in Paris. Avoided the international qualifying tournament. ___ Caleb Boyer is a journalism student at Penn State University.
Helen Maroulis, the first American woman to win a gold medal in wrestling, earned a spot on the U.S. national team in Paris on Saturday night, becoming the first American female wrestler to compete in three Summer Games. .
Video above: 100 days until the 2024 Paris Olympics
Maroulis, competing in the 57kg weight class, dominated former Olympian Jakara Winchester in a best-of-three series.
Maroulis, a two-time Olympic medalist, swept the series by defeating Winchester by pin in the first match and a 6-0 decision in the second match. Maroulis, with a bleeding nose, bowed to a crowd of cheering fans and had his arm raised by officials at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's campus.
“When I hear that, it reminds me of myself when I was little. If you had told me I would do this, I don't think I would have believed you,” Maroulis said, adding that she didn't know she was doing it. Break the record set.
Maroulis won a bronze medal in the 57 kg weight class at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first female wrestler for the United States to win two Olympic medals. The 32-year-old won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I definitely think we're in peak season,” Maroulis said.
Maroulis, a Maryland native, wrestles and trains at the powerhouse Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club in Arizona.
Winchester represented the United States in the 53kg weight class at the Tokyo Olympics and was the world champion in the 55kg weight class in 2019. Winchester was originally scheduled to wrestle at 53kg, but failed to reach the cut-off and was forced to move up to 57kg.
All six women who earned spots on the U.S. team Saturday bypassed the international qualifying tournament and earned direct berths to this summer's Olympic Games in Paris.
___
Caleb Boyer is a journalism student at Penn State University.
