Helen Maroulis pulled one of the great upsets in Olympic history Thursday, stunning the nearly unbeatable Japanese champion Saori Yoshida to win gold.
Maroulis won 4-1 on points to take the title in the 53-kg (117 pounds) weight class and win the first-ever Olympic gold for the United States in women's wrestling.
The loss was only Yoshida's third in 14 years of competition and she had never been beaten at the Olympics, World Championships or Asian Games.
Maroulis, a 24-year-old from Rockville, Md., was down 1-0 after the first 3-minute period due to a passivity warning.