By Jeff Miller
The Orange County Register
RIO de JANIERO, Brazil - The result was so heavy, so loaded with emotion and consequence, that the loser wilted under the weight.

And so did the winner.

There they were, both on their knees, both crumpled forward, both holding their faces.

Both crying.

And in the instant it took for history to happen, Orange County had its most unlikely of Olympic champions, maybe ever.

Helen Maroulis doesn’t have a bed to call her own in Huntington Beach. But now she has her own gold medal to sleep with.

“I kind of forgot I was wrestling for gold,” she admitted. “I dreamed about this match so much. When it was done, I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I get a gold medal now. Cool.’”

Cool? How cool is this?

Maroulis not only won the 53-kilogram title Thursday, she beat a borderline mythical figure in doing so.

Japan’s Saori Yoshida is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and 13-time world champion whose fame is such that she has an award for excellence named after her in her home country.

Compare that to Maroulis, an Olympic rookie who shares a bed with teammate Elena Pirozhkova in a room that, by now, was supposed to be converted into someone else’s home office.

Read Full Story