Helen Maroulis vs The World: It's Not Even Close

Helen Maroulis vs The World: It's Not Even Close

Helen Maroulis won her third straight world/Olympic title last week in Paris, but one of the things that's not brought up enough is exactly how dominant she has been over the last three years.

Sep 5, 2017 by Michael Malinconico
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Helen Maroulis won her third straight world/Olympic title last week in Paris, but one of the things that's not brought up enough is exactly how dominant she has been over the last three years.

Everyone likes to talk about her win over 10-time world/Olympic champion Saori Yoshida, but the fact of the matter is Yoshida didn't really come very close to beating Maroulis at all. In fact, no one has. Maroulis has taken one loss in the last three years, and it was at the International Ukrainian Tournament earlier this year (up at 60kg). But when it counts the most (the World Championships and Olympic Games), she has been darn near bulletproof. Check out these numbers. 

Since Maroulis stepped foot on the mat at the World Championships in Las Vegas in 2015, she has been on an unbelievable 14-0 tear. Only four athletes have been able to stay on the mat with her for six minutes. Along with her nine tech falls and one fall, she has outscored her opponents 127-6.

Maroulis is making a name for herself as an offensive juggernaut and rightfully so; however, her ability to ward off takedowns is pretty impressive. Did you know that Maroulis has only been taken down by one person in world and Olympic competition since 2015? Any guess as to who the lucky gal was? Go ahead, I'll give you a minute. If you guessed Yoshida you'd be wrong. It was Myong Suk Jong from North Korea in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games. Jong scored a slick little wrist snap go-behind in the first and won a tough-fought scramble in the second. Not only was this the only match that Maroulis had to come from behind to win, but she was also losing the match with 20 seconds left.

Aside from Jong from North Korea the only other people to score any points on Maroulis has been a referee. Yuliia Khavaldzhy Blahinya was awarded a "correct throw" in the qualifying rounds in Rio when she hit Maroulis with a headlock. However, Maroulis did not expose her back to the mat, and she wound up on top of the exchange and promptly teched the Ukranian 12-1. The only way that Yoshida was able to get onto the board was with some help by the shot clock.

Maroulis is making a bid for herself as best pound-for-pound and the gap between her and her competition is widening. At this year's World Championships, Maroulis teched everyone that stepped in front of her. Not bad, right? What about that no one was able to score a point against her? Still not impressed? Maroulis spent a total of 13 minutes and seven seconds on the mat in five matches in Paris.