Helen Maroulis gets her hand raised after beating Saori Yoshida (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)RIO DE JANEIRO -- Team USA's Helen Maroulis won the gold medal at 53 kilograms/116.5 pounds at the 2016 Rio Games Thursday, becoming the first U.S. women's wrestler to win an Olympic championship ... and denying Japan's Saori Yoshida her fourth gold medal.
Maroulis' magic; disappointment for teammates
To win the gold, the 24-year-old Maroulis defeated three-time defending Olympic champion Yoshida, 4-1.
The 33-year-old Yoshida, who has won 13 consecutive world championships, scored the first technical point in the first period but eventually lost ground -- and the match -- to Maroulis.
Once the match was over, both wrestlers burst into tears. Maroulis dropped to her knees and started bawling ... while Yoshida wept uncontrollably.
"I've dreamed of this my whole life," Maroulis said. "I put it on this pedestal."
"I've been dreaming about wrestling Saori for so long," Maroulis, a first-time Olympian, added. "She's a hero. She's the most decorated wrestler in the sport. It's such an honor to wrestle her."
Meanwhile, after being denied a fourth Olympic gold, Yoshida said, "I am sorry to finish with a silver medal despite all the cheers from so many people. As the Japanese captain, I should have gotten the gold medal."
"I kept thinking that I would be able to win in the end, but it got to the point where I could no longer come back," the Japanese mat star added. "I'm sorry I couldn't exert all my strength."
Yoshida said that she has not decided yet if she will return in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Before the gold-medal match, the top-ranked Maroulis handled a quartet of Top Ten contenders, starting with a decisive 12-1 win over No. 8-ranked Yulia Khavaldzhy Blahinya of Ukraine ... a 10-0 shutout of China's Xuechun Zhong (ranked fourth) ... a 7-4 win over fifth-ranked Myong Suk Jong of North Korea ... and with a pin of Sweden's Sofia Mattsson -- ranked second in the world -- 5:24.
On the same day as Maroulis' stunning, historic achievement, her teammates, Elena Pirozhkova and Adeline Gray, failed to earn medals.
In her match for bronze at 63 kilograms/138.75 pounds, Pirozhkova had been leading Yeakterina Larionova of Kazakhstan, 3-0 ... but then was thrown to her back and pinned at 4:01 of their match. Pirozhkova placed fifth.
Adeline Gray fell to Vasillisa Marzaliuk of Belarus (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Gray had been on a lot of lists as a strong possibility for bringing home the gold at 75 kilograms/165 pounds, including Sports Illustrated's 2016 Olympic Preview Issue earlier this month. However, after pinning her opponent in her first match, the Colorado native lost to third-ranked Vasillisa Marzaliuk of Belarus, 4-1, dashing Gray's hopes for a gold medal. When Marzaliuk lost to Canada's Erica Wiebe in the semifinals, Gray was eliminated from medal contention, and ultimately placed seventh.
U.S. women's freestyle coach Terry Steiner said, "We all need to celebrate for Helen. This is a stepping stone for this sport in our nation. For the others, Haley Augello, Adeline Gray and Elena Pirozhkova, they need to hold their head up high and be proud of who they are and what they have become through this sport. I don't think their days are done. It is a great movement for women's wrestling to have that gold medal. We needed it so very much. We finally got that done."
Medal results at 53 kilos
Helen Maroulis winning the gold medal at 53 kilos wasn't the only news in this weight class. In one bronze-medal match, Natalya Sinishin of Azerbaijan earned a 2-1 victory over Venezuela's Betzabeth Arguello ... while, in the other, Sweden's Sofia Mattsson made short work of Xuechun Zhong, pinning her Chinese opponent in 29 seconds.
Medal results at 63 kilos
In the gold medal match at 63 kilos, Japan's Risako Kawai made up for her teammate Yoshida's disappointment, shutting out European champion Maryia Mamashuk of Belarus, 6-0. In addition to the bronze medal match where Pirozhkova was pinned by her Kazakhstani opponent, Poland's Monika Ewa Michalik earned a 6-3 decision over Inna Trazhukova of Russia.
Erica Wiebe celebrates after winning gold at 75 kilograms (Photo/Martin Gabor)Medal results at 75 kilos
Canada's Erica Wiebe fought her way to a gold medal Thursday after holding Guzel Manyurova of Kazakhstan scoreless, 6-0. It was the 16th medal for Canada at the Rio Olympics.
In one bronze-medal match, China's Fengliu Zhang defeated Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus, 8-4 ... while, in the other, Russia's Ekaterina Bukina got a 5-3 decision over Annabel Laure Ali of Cameroon.
Thursday saw the end of women's freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Olympics. Friday will launch three days of men's freestyle competition. Taking to the mats tomorrow for the U.S. is three-time World champion and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs at 74 kilograms and Daniel Dennis at 57 kilograms.
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