Rockville native Helen Maroulis made history Friday as the first American woman to win three Olympic medals in wrestling after she took bronze in the women’s freestyle competition in the 57-kilogram weight class, according to a Team USA social media post.
The 32-year-old defeated Canada’s Hannah Taylor to win the third-place medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Maroulis also won bronze in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 53-kilogram weight class, according to The Washington Post.
The wrestler isn’t new to setting records—she was the first U.S. female wrestler to win Olympic gold in 2016, and her second medal in 2020 made her the first American woman to earn two medals in wrestling, according to her Olympic profile.
Maroulis started wrestling at age 7 when she joined her brother in the youth program at the Gaithersburg Sports Association. She’s also a seven-time world championship medalist, having won three gold, two silver and two bronze, according to her Olympic profile.