Helen Maroulis is an Olympic champion and a three-time wrestling world champion, but now she’s competing under a completely different ruleset by entering the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2024 at blue belt. Maroulis is the most successful female wrestler in US history, as she became the first to win an Olympic gold medal on her first attempt back in 2016. She then returned in 2020 to win a bronze medal and in qualifying for the 2024 Olympic games, she became the first female US wrestler to compete at three editions of the prestigious event. Maroulis left with another bronze medal just a few months ago, but now it seems like her career is taking a slightly different turn.
She trains at Unity Jiu-Jitsu, and Helen Maroulis will now be representing them on the biggest stage in the sport as she competes at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2024. Although she is one of the best wrestlers in the world, she has a limited amount of experience in Jiu-Jitsu and she will be competing at blue belt as a result. As a veteran wrestler, Maroulis would never be able to enter any white belt divisions under IBJJF rules and blue belt is the earliest level that she could compete at. She is also not able to enter any higher belt-level divisions due to the IBJJF time requirements for each rank.
She now enters the women’s lightweight bracket along with 20 other women so far, meaning that she will have to win a minimum of four matches in order to earn a gold medal. Experienced wrestlers and Judo competitors entering BJJ tournaments in the lower belt levels has always been something of a hot topic, but it’s important to remember that the IBJJF rules actually do not allow for any other outcome. Maroulis isn’t even the only elite wrestler who will be competing among blue belts at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship this year, as Pat Downey has also entered the tournament.
The full IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2024, including Helen Maroulis in the women’s lightweight blue belt bracket, can be watched live on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
