WASHINGTON — It’s official, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo have been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus.
Wrestler and Rockville native Helen Maroulis, who became the first-ever American to win a gold medal in women’s freestyle wrestling, when she beat Saori Yoshida 4-1 to win a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, sat down with WUSA9 to talk about the games being postponed.
The 28-year-old took the unfortunate news in stride, but it was certainly disappointing.
She qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics almost two weeks ago, when the pandemic was first impacting the United States.
"My first reaction was, it was the right thing to do. I always knew I wanted to wrestle in two Olympics because I wanted to know what it’s like to have a target on your back or to know that person that has been consistently in the number one spot. It’s been really cool to journey through that process. I always thought I would do two Olympics," said Maroulis. "If they had canceled that would have been hard but it’s for a good reason. It’s for people’s health and safety but to know there’s still that opportunity for a second Olympics is just amazing."
Swimmer Katie Ledecky who’s a 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Bethesda Native reacted to the news of the postponement of the Summer Games on Instagram.
She posted, “Now is the time to support all those working to heal the sick and keep us all healthy. We will get through this together.”