Olympic wrestling champion Helen Maroulis continues to make waves in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community, securing gold at the Austin Winter Open No-Gi competition in what was only her second BJJ tournament appearance.
Maroulis, who famously began her jiu-jitsu journey just five weeks before her competitive debut, has quickly proven that her world-class wrestling skills translate impressively to the gentle art. This victory comes amid recent discussions about her rapid advancement in the sport.
“I started jiu-jitsu exactly five weeks ago, it was the first time I ever took a class,” Maroulis had previously explained. “I have friends that do it, but like, never really watched it, don’t, like, didn’t even know the rules, nothing.”
The Olympic gold medalist initially took up jiu-jitsu while recovering from a back injury that limited her other athletic activities. Her approach to the sport has been marked by genuine humility and respect for its traditions.
“I deeply, deeply, deeply care about the culture of the environment that I enter into. I know that it’s not wrestling, and I’m not trying to bring my expectations or experiences with wrestling solely into this,” she stated.
This latest achievement at the Austin Winter Open No-Gi demonstrates Maroulis’s exceptional athleticism and her ability to adapt to new challenges. Her success follows a pattern of accomplished athletes who have successfully transitioned into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, though few have achieved such notable results so quickly.
Maroulis also took the opportunity to spend some time with Gordon Ryan and John Danaher over at team New Wave.
Danaher writes:
“One of the best parts of training is having immensely talented visitors stop by and work alongside us. This week the great American wrestler Helen Maroulis @helen_maroulis came in for training. She is one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time Olympic champion (the first American woman to win this title), three time world champion and a stunning ten time medalist in Olympic and world championships competition. She now trains Jiu jitsu in addition to her wrestling. It was truly fascinating to watch her game blend wrestling and her fast developing Jiu jitsu skills. Her wrestling style is very unique – lots of upper body controls and takedowns with footsweeps and truly superb transitions to the ground. It is very well suited to crossover with jiu jitsu. She taught one of her signature takedown variations to the squad and showed her teaching skills are as good as her competitive skills! It was a great lesson to the team to see someone who is already so accomplished still learning and moving in new directions. She is a true treasure for the grappling world!”
Ryan was similarly complementary: “Amazing time having wrestling royalty and Olympic champion on the mats these last few days. Nothing better than sharing the mats with athletes who carry the USA on their back at the highest levels. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@helen_maroulis”
