RIO DE JANEIRO – Simon Fraser University wrestling alumna Helen Maroulis manufactured a huge upset to win the United States' first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's wrestling.
 
The 24-year-old wrestler did what no one else had been able to do in over 14 years. She beat three-time Olympic champion and 13-time world champion Saori Yoshida from Japan. The first period ended with Yoshida leading 1-0 after Maroulis failed to convert when put on the 30-second shot clock. The American came out strong in the second period though, getting two takedowns to earn a 4-1 victory on points.
 
Yoshida is the winningest wrestler in history – male or female in any weight class. Maroulis had not lost since 2014, riding a two-year winning streak into the gold-medal match. Yoshida's legendary status was not lost on Maroulis. "I've been dreaming about wrestling Saori for so long," Maroulis said to NBC after her gold-medal bout. "She's a hero. She's the most decorated wrestler in the sport. It's such an honour to wrestle her."
 
Throughout the day, Maroulis ran the gauntlet of top contenders inside Carioca Arena 2.
She downed Yulia Khavaldzhy Blahinya of Ukraine in qualifications before defeating world No. 4 Xuechun Zhong of China in the 1/8 finals. She scored three points in the final 15 seconds of her quarterfinal match to score a 7-4 win over Jong Myong Suk of North Korea. Then in the semifinal round, Maroulis faced Sweden's Sofia Mattsson and won 5-0, securing an opportunity for her to go for gold.
 
Maroulis, the reigning 2015 World Champion at 55kg, was a four-time WCWA champion at Simon Fraser and was undefeated in her collegiate career. She dropped down to the 53kg weight class this past year after the International Wrestling Federation added more weight classes for women in freestyle wrestling but removed the 55kg division.
 
WATCH: Maroulis speaks about her love for wrestling with Vogue.com
 
Earlier in the day, fellow Clan wrestling alumna Danielle Lappage's Olympic journey was cut short in the most heartbreaking way imaginable. The Canadian suffered an injury during warm-up prior to her qualifying match against Ukraine's Yuliia TKACH. She made an attempt to proceed with the match but was forced to retire 40 seconds into the contest. Lappage was a four-time All-American and three-time champion during her time at SFU.
 
Maroulis is now part of an elite group of Clan wrestling alumni to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. She joins Carol Hunyh (Beijing 2008) and Daniel Igali (Sydney 2000) as Olympic champions.
 
-- With files from USA Wrestling/US Olympic Committee/NBC
 
--@SFUClan--