"God just told me to go back" - Helen Maroulis gets honest about nearly quitting and her return after World Team spot

American wrestler Helen Maroulis recently discussed her brief retirement in 2019 due to health issues after earning a spot on the 2025 U.S. World Wrestling Team for the World Championships. Maroulis competed at 57 kg in a best-of-three series against Amanda Martinez at Final X on Saturday, June 14, and registered two dominant wins. She will be making her 12th appearance at the World Championships scheduled in Croatia later this year.

Helen Maroulis is regarded as one of the best wrestlers in America. She has competed in the 53 kg, 55 kg and 57 kg weight classes on multiple occasions, and most notably won a gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the 53 kg, making her the first American female to achieve the top podium spot in the Olympics. She has won several World Championship gold medals as well after starting wrestling at an early age.

Maroulis discussed her brief retirement in 2019 due to concussions and PTSD. She made a strong comeback to the sport however, qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics where she won a bronze medal. In an interview with USA Wrestling, she said:

“To be honest, I didn’t want to come back. I was so at peace with it. I had moved on to jiu-jitsu. I love jiu-jitsu. I was like, oh, similar sport, but way less hard on the body. About eight weeks out, I decided to come back to wrestling. One day, God just told me to go back to Phoenix (to train). I went back, and it was like all of a sudden in a week, I just moved out of my place in New York and trained full-time. I was really questioning, should I be back? But then everything comes together at the end."

Helen Maroulis will join the U.S. team at the 2025 World Championships in Croatia, which will be held in September later this year.

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Helen Maroulis on how Brazilian jiu-jitsu helped her make a comeback

Helen Maroulis at the Paris 2024 Olympics - Source: Getty

Helen Maroulis briefly competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, making her debut in the sport in December 2024 at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships. Maroulis competed in the lightweight blue belt division and won a gold medal, defeating Seika Van Keuren in the finals.

Maroulis said that Brazilian jiu-jitsu was a way for her to help shift her focus in wrestling, and discussed it in an interview with USA Wrestling. She said (1:57 onwards):

"It definitely helped shift my focus and come back and prepare in wrestling different and I learned some stuff, they're definitely different experiences."

Maroulis would also go on to discuss her health issues, saying she had to retrain her brain to be able to fight again.