Helen Maroulis named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare

Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on September 21, 2025.

Maroulis was sensational at the 2025 World Championships held at Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia. She claimed the 57 kg women’s freestyle gold medal, her fourth gold at a Senior World Championships, with a dominant 4-0 outing. To make the championship match, Maroulis notched three-straight pins without surrendering a single match point.

The gold medal match against North Korea’s Il Sim Son came down to the final seconds. Maroulis was down by a point in the latter stages of the contest, and she powered through an inside trip to score the match winning takedown with six seconds left on the clock. Maroulis held on in those final moments for a 3-2 win.

The Maryland native is now tied with trailblazer Tricia Saunders for second place on the all-time list of World gold medals won by an American in women’s freestyle at four. Only Adeline Gray, who owns six, has more. In fact, only seven individuals in USA Wrestling history have won at least four World titles—Gray (6), Saunders (4) and Maroulis (4) in women’s freestyle, plus Jordan Burroughs (5), John Smith (4), Kyle Dake (4) and Kyle Snyder (4) in men’s freestyle. Snyder, who is also from Maryland, achieved the feat in Zagreb.

With the added gold, Maroulis has now collected eight medals at the Senior World Championships—four gold, two silver and three bronze. She also owns a U.S. women’s record three Olympic medals—gold from the 2016 Rio Games and bronze at both the 2020 Tokyo Games and 2024 Paris Games. She was the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and was the first to win multiple Olympic medals.

Maroulis was the highlight moment of the U.S. women’s effort in Zagreb. The team finished in fourth place overall. Joining Maroulis with medal performances were Kennedy Blades at 68 kg and Kylie Welker at 76 kg, both of whom scored bronze.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please email the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments, and career accolades to communications@usawrestling.org.