Maroulis Back on Top, Mensah-Stock Rebounds for Bronze

Helen Maroulis won her fourth world title (including her 2016 Olympic gold) in Oslo. Photo courtesy of FloWrestling.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

OSLO, NORWAY - Only four months ago, Helen Maroulis lost 13-0 to Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye at the Poland Open, one of two matches she lost at the event. Today, she’s standing at the top of the podium in Oslo at the 2021 UWW World Championships, just three months after winning an Olympic bronze medal. She’s back on top for the first time since 2017, the culminating moment of a long comeback from a series of devastating injuries and concussions.

“It feels incredible,” said Maroulis after the finals match, where she pinned India’s Anshu Anshu at the 3:59 mark. “It’s such a good feeling. There’s nothing like holding your flag and representing your country.”

57 kg Maroulis went down 1-0 in the first period after Anshu scored a shot clock point, but she came storming back in the second, getting a 2-on-1 shuck-by takedown for 2 that she converted into an arm bar for the fall at 3:59.

Including her 2016 Olympic gold and 2021 Olympic bronze, Maroulis now has four world titles and seven total world medals.

At 68 kg, Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock came back from a devastating loss in the semis to Japan’s Rin Miyaji to win the bronze with a dominant performance over Adela Hanzlickova of Czechoslovakia. Mensah showed her masterful work in neutral position with five takedowns to win the match 10-1 and claim the bronze, her fourth world medal including her Olympic gold in July.

At 59, Maya Nelson was up 3-0 at break but suffered a shoulder injury early in the second that seemed to change the dynamic of the rest of the match. After Nelson cried out in pain and was attended to by trainers and coaches, she continued wrestling. Moments later, a call went against Nelson on the line, as the Mongolian was awarded 2 points for a takedown without fully getting behind the American or covering her hips. Nelson was taken down again to fall behind 4-3, but took a solid shot on a single leg that, in the end, wasn’t awarded 2 though Nelson had the leg in a low finish position and right hand on the far hip. The 2017 Junior world champ landed in 5th at her first Senior World Championships.

The U.S. women walk away from Oslo with seven total medals, including two golds, two silvers, and three bronze. Japan won the team race with 196; USA came in second with 147; and Mongolia landed in third with 78.