Helen Maroulis Pulls Huge Upset, Earns First-Ever Wrestling Gold For American Women

Helen Maroulis just pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2016 Olympics. The 24-year-old won the 53 kg freestyle wrestling gold medal by beating three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida. Japan’s Yoshida is a 13-time world champion and had only lost twice internationally in nearly two decades of competition. Now she has three losses.

Maroulis took the gold with a 3-1 win, becoming the first woman from the United States to become an Olympic champion in wrestling.

The 33-year-old Yoshida has been one of the most dominant athletes on the planet during her near two-decade reign at the top of the wrestling world. That’s over now, and Maroulis has the title of Olympic champion. Very cool moment.