At 2016 Rio Olympics when the USA’s Helen Maroulis defeated greatest women wrestler in 53kg division Saori Yoshida in finals, it marked the end of an epoch and starting of a new era. Between then to now, it has been a roller-coaster ride for the 28-year-old Tokyo Games bound wrestler.
There was the high of the 2017 worlds in Paris where she defeated Marwa Amri of Tunisia to become the champion. And then there the 2018 Budapest-held world championship where she pulled back due to an injury. Then in 2019, there came a time, when she considered bidding wrestling adieu. After staying away from the wrestling mat for more almost two years, she made her comeback to the US team for the Pan-American Olympic Qualifiers and confirmed the quota in 57kg. But then the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics again put her plans on the back burner. Her journey is no less than a Hollywood action thriller.
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Talking about her return, she says,” What God taught me is that I am not trying to get back to 2016”. “I am 2020 Helen. The 2018 Helen made me just as much as 2016. People are looking at outcomes. But you don’t know the process I walked through and the same hard decisions I had to make, those life processes I had to go through. I have always thought of this as my way of journeying with God and Him teaching me about myself. The biggest thing in taking the year off is he showed me I am going to strip everything away from you so that when you come back, you will know this is you and me. This is a really good step in the right direction,” reported USA wrestling.
Maroulis had suffered a concussion back in early 2018 while competing in India’s wrestling league. Even before this, she has had her fair amount of struggle with a repeated concussion injury. The US wrestler has been very vocal about the difficulty in recovery and has helped educate others about the seriousness of the injury.
The National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner always believed that she could overcome her battles with concussions as well as recover from her injury at the 2018 World Championships. What he was most interested in was whether Maroulis still had her passion for the sport and her amazing commitment to excellence. “There wasn’t a concern that she couldn’t come back. I knew if she wanted to, she could come back. I just didn’t know if she really wanted to do this. I actually encouraged her the other way. I encouraged her to step back, step away. Sometimes we are in such a rush to figure out who we are and what we want, we have to understand it takes time. The more you rush it, the more you try to force it, the more it eludes you,” said Steiner to USA Wrestling.
Looking back two years later, Steiner thinks her forced time off from the sport may have been provided with a silver lining for Maroulis. “Maybe the injury at the World Championships in 2018 was the best thing,” said Steiner.
“Maybe it was a time she could just step back, reflect and realize what this sport means to her. Once she figured that out, everything else fell into place. She is a great talent. This doesn’t leave you that quick. She is right in that prime age. She has a lot of skill in her”. “I told her many times, you could walk away from this sport and nobody would ever blame you. This is your out if you want to be out. You are already a two-time World champion and an Olympic champion. Nobody is going to say anything. Your name is etched in stone for the ages. If this is something you want to do, we have to have a lifestyle to it. You have to get back to living the lifestyle.”
It was a difficult time for Maroulis, but not something she faced alone. In fact, it was during her time away from the mat where she had enough support to really think about her relationship with the sport.
“In 2018, I lost and shared I wanted to do the right thing for my health first and foremost,” said Maroulis. “I had accountability. I had people that walked with me through everything, from doctors, friends, my family. Around September or October, I really did retire. I remember crying to my mom. She told me, ‘You know, you can’t go out there and be hesitant, or be afraid someone is going to touch your head because you are going to lose every time or you are going to get hurt again.’ I said that was a good point. But she did say that ‘I think you can win again, absolutely.’ That kind of broke me. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to stop too soon.’ ”
Two years fast forward to Ottawa, Canada, where Maroulis needed just four wins to reach the finals and qualify the USA for the 2020 Games. In her first match, she met World Champ Linda Morais of Canada winning the bout 12-2 on technical fall.
“I do remember she was so fluid. You could tell she was in her own world,” said Steiner. “Her reactions were unbelievable. She wasn’t forcing anything. She did some things only Helen Maroulis can do in her reactions. It was pretty special, just sitting back and watching. Wow, that’s the Helen that we know, right there. Linda Morais is a great competitor, a World champ herself. Helen just let that match unfold and took what was there. It was really an art.”
She continued her dominance in the 57kg and marched to the finals romping Guilla Penalber of Brazil 9-0 and Lissette Antes of Ecuador 6-2. In the final, she beat Nesmarie Rodriguez of Puerto Rico 11-0 to win the title and a place in the Tokyo Games.
However, right after her mesmeric return, the COVID-19 played spoilsport and the Olympics got postponed to next year. Nonetheless, Steiner believes that the delay has not derailed Maroulis comeback but has benefitted her instead. “She has an unbelievable faith in God and that is always first in her life,” Steiner said.
“The passion she has for what she is doing is going to carry her as well as her family. With COVID-19, she realizes things happen and this is far more important than wrestling and we all have to deal with it. She has a great attitude towards it, and she is making the most out of it. She has looked good so far. Maybe this postponement of the Games is the best thing for her. Maybe it gives her a little bit more time than she would have had than if she had made that team. She has more time to prepare. Things happen for reasons, and we never know what they are. She will make the most of it for sure,” he added.
