Vote for Olympic champion Helen Maroulis for Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Olympic champion Helen Maroulis celebrates her historic win at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
2016 Olympic gold medalist Helen Maroulis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Sunkist Kids), who made history as the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic wrestling title, has been named as a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2016 Sportswoman of the Year Award.
CLICK BELOW TO VOTE FOR HELEN MAROULIS
http://sportswomanoftheyear.com/
Athletes were considered for this year’s award based on their athletic achievements between August 1, 2015 and August 21, 2016. Within that time period, Maroulis won an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August 2016 and a World gold medal in Las Vegas, Nev. in September 2015. Maroulis was a finalist in the Individual Sports category.
Not only was Maroulis the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic title, but she also defeated the most decorated wrestler of all time, regardless of gender or style. In the finals at 53 kg, Maroulis stopped three-time Olympic champion and 13-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan, 4-1.
Maroulis won five matches on the way to the title. Included was an impressive pin over past World champion Sofia Mattsson of Sweden in the semifinals. The other wrestlers she defeated were Yulia Khavaldzhy Blahinya of Ukraine, Xuechun Zhong of China and Myong Suk Jong of DPR Korea.
Also within the past year, Maroulis won a gold medal at 55 kg in the 2015 World Championships held in Las Vegas in September, scoring a technical fall over Irina Olgonova of Russia in the finals. Other victories were over Brenda Salazar of Mexico, Evelina Nikolova of Bulgaria and Quianyu Pang of China.
When her season completed, Maroulis had compiled a 63-match win streak over two-plus years, the second longest in USA Wrestling history for all styles.
Among her other achievements during the time period was a title at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 53kg in Iowa City, Iowa in April, a victory at the First World Olympic Games Qualifier in Mongolia in April and a gold medal at the 2015 UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals champion in Azerbaijan in November. She won her match against Canada at the Beat the Streets United In the Square dual in New York City in May, and added a victory at the Special Wrestle-off for the Pan American Olympic Qualifier Team in Iowa City in January. She was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 55 kg by United World Wrestling all year long.
Maroulis was a four-time WCWA women’s college national champion, winning three titles for Simon Fraser University and one for Missouri Baptist University. A native of Rockville, Md., Maroulis also won three Junior World medals and was a 2011 Pan American Games champion.
Voting has begun and will conclude 11:59pm E.S.T., September 11, 2016. The winners will be determined by a combination of a public vote (50%) and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Awards Committee’s vote (50%). The winners will be the two athletes – one individual finalist and one team finalist – who receive the highest combined share of the public vote and the Awards Committee’s vote.
The winner in each of the categories will be invited to attend the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Gala on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City to accept their award.
Other finalists in the individual category are Simone Biles (gymnastics), Kayla Harrison (judo), Lydia Ko (golf), Katie Ledecky (swimming), Tatyana McFadden (Paralympic track and field), Claressa Shields (boxing), Elaine Thompson (track and field), Serena Williams (tennis), Gwen Jorgensen (triathlon).
Fans can also vote for their top athlete from a team sport, with nominees to include: Valerie Arioto (softball), Heather Erickson (sitting volleyball), Helen Glover and Heather Stanning (rowing), Ashleigh Johnson (water polo), Hilary Knight (ice hockey), Carli Lloyd (soccer), Alexandra Danson (field hockey), Maya Moore (basketball), Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig (beach volleyball) and Zhu Ting (volleyball).
Spread the word to your friends and family, and support Olympic champion Helen Maroulis by voting today and often.
2016 Olympic gold medalist Helen Maroulis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Sunkist Kids), who made history as the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic wrestling title, has been named as a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2016 Sportswoman of the Year Award.
CLICK BELOW TO VOTE FOR HELEN MAROULIS
http://sportswomanoftheyear.com/
Athletes were considered for this year’s award based on their athletic achievements between August 1, 2015 and August 21, 2016. Within that time period, Maroulis won an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August 2016 and a World gold medal in Las Vegas, Nev. in September 2015. Maroulis was a finalist in the Individual Sports category.
Not only was Maroulis the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic title, but she also defeated the most decorated wrestler of all time, regardless of gender or style. In the finals at 53 kg, Maroulis stopped three-time Olympic champion and 13-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan, 4-1.
Maroulis won five matches on the way to the title. Included was an impressive pin over past World champion Sofia Mattsson of Sweden in the semifinals. The other wrestlers she defeated were Yulia Khavaldzhy Blahinya of Ukraine, Xuechun Zhong of China and Myong Suk Jong of DPR Korea.
Also within the past year, Maroulis won a gold medal at 55 kg in the 2015 World Championships held in Las Vegas in September, scoring a technical fall over Irina Olgonova of Russia in the finals. Other victories were over Brenda Salazar of Mexico, Evelina Nikolova of Bulgaria and Quianyu Pang of China.
When her season completed, Maroulis had compiled a 63-match win streak over two-plus years, the second longest in USA Wrestling history for all styles.
Among her other achievements during the time period was a title at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 53kg in Iowa City, Iowa in April, a victory at the First World Olympic Games Qualifier in Mongolia in April and a gold medal at the 2015 UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals champion in Azerbaijan in November. She won her match against Canada at the Beat the Streets United In the Square dual in New York City in May, and added a victory at the Special Wrestle-off for the Pan American Olympic Qualifier Team in Iowa City in January. She was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 55 kg by United World Wrestling all year long.
Maroulis was a four-time WCWA women’s college national champion, winning three titles for Simon Fraser University and one for Missouri Baptist University. A native of Rockville, Md., Maroulis also won three Junior World medals and was a 2011 Pan American Games champion.
Voting has begun and will conclude 11:59pm E.S.T., September 11, 2016. The winners will be determined by a combination of a public vote (50%) and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Awards Committee’s vote (50%). The winners will be the two athletes – one individual finalist and one team finalist – who receive the highest combined share of the public vote and the Awards Committee’s vote.
The winner in each of the categories will be invited to attend the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Gala on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City to accept their award.
Other finalists in the individual category are Simone Biles (gymnastics), Kayla Harrison (judo), Lydia Ko (golf), Katie Ledecky (swimming), Tatyana McFadden (Paralympic track and field), Claressa Shields (boxing), Elaine Thompson (track and field), Serena Williams (tennis), Gwen Jorgensen (triathlon).
Fans can also vote for their top athlete from a team sport, with nominees to include: Valerie Arioto (softball), Heather Erickson (sitting volleyball), Helen Glover and Heather Stanning (rowing), Ashleigh Johnson (water polo), Hilary Knight (ice hockey), Carli Lloyd (soccer), Alexandra Danson (field hockey), Maya Moore (basketball), Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig (beach volleyball) and Zhu Ting (volleyball).
Spread the word to your friends and family, and support Olympic champion Helen Maroulis by voting today and often.
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