Faith Stories from Tokyo 2020: Wrestling their way to Glory | KAIROS GLOBAL | FEBRUARY 2022

Author: Joseph George

Intro: In this continuation of the Faith Stories from Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Joseph George writes about two American women wrestlers.

In this edition of faith stories, we focus on two American women who wrestled their way to glory in 2021 while proclaiming their faith. In fact, Helen Louise Maroulis (Rio 2016) and Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock (Tokyo 2020) are the only two American women wrestlers with an Olympic Gold medal in their kitty. They wrestled their way to Olympic glory in August 2021, and followed that up with Wrestling Worlds success in October 2021.

While our daily wrestling against the odds may or may not be as frequent in life, for wrestlers, struggles and setbacks are a given in their everyday life. Major injuries can curtail a career easily. The determination and will power required to overcome obstacles and to fight till the end separates the best from the rest. 

Genesis 32:24-26 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, “let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Jacob came face to face with God and yet his life was persevered. Then with the Lord’s blessing, Jacob became Israel. The Israelites to this day do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh by the tendon of the hip. The fight was real but at the end of the day Jacob earned the blessing; that’s what we all crave for. In order to receive the blessing, wrestling might not be enough, we need to return to God, we need to observe kindness and justice.

Hosea 12:4-6: Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favour. He found him at Bethel and there he spoke with us. Even the LORD, the God of hosts, The LORD is his name. Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually. 

HELEN LOUISE MAROULIS (USA)

Women’s Featherweight Gold Medalist at Rio 2016, Helen Louise Maroulis won her third world title on 7th October 2021. She defeated India’s Anshu Malik in the final, earning a victory by fall. This was her 5th medal in Wrestling Worlds after securing Silver in 2012, Bronze in 2014, and Gold in 2015 and 2017. 

‘Walking by faith, wrestling by fate’ reads Maroulis's Instagram and Twitter bios. 

At Rio 2016, Helen Maroulis upset three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida, arguably the greatest wrestler, in the final to become the first American woman to win a wrestling gold medal. Someone who delivered on her potential and talent, would have been an automatic choice to be in medal contention for the big events in future as well. A look back at the Wrestling Worlds medals will reveal a gap between 2017 and 2021, which was the period when Helen Maroulis had two serious concussions, and was diagnosed with PTSD; she briefly retired before returning to the mat. 

The traumatic brain injuries had taken a toll on her, but she decided to walk by faith and eventually qualified for the Olympics in April 2021. She glorified God for bringing her this far with the following tweet:

‘“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” (2 Samuel 7:18).

Can’t believe I get to go on this Olympic journey... AGAIN!!!! 🇺🇸 #2xolympian #glorytoGod”¹

Few months later, she took the centre stage at Tokyo 2020. Even though she lost the semi-final, she was more than happy to wrestle her way to bronze, her second Olympic medal. This one was even special considering the struggles she had to go through in between the two Olympic Games.

After winning her second Olympic medal at Tokyo 2020, Maroulis quoted Mark 9:23 in her Instagram post: And Jesus said to him, “anything is possible to him who believes.” 

‘Never lose faith, never give up.’²

Maroulis didn’t lose her faith, she didn’t give up her wrestling career. It was a brave call to return to the mat after those traumatic brain injuries. To come back from retirement, and to fight it out on the mat wouldn’t have been an easy decision. Doctors reassured her that ‘the brain and the body are resilient’. She believed that completely, and it also showed how deep her conviction and faith were. Two months after the Olympics, she was back on the mat again, to wrestle her way to the Wrestling Worlds gold medal. Her third gold medal underlines her never-say-die attitude and is a testament to walking the faith.  

TAMYRA MARIAMA MENSAH-STOCK (USA)

In 2016, Tamyra Mariama Mensah-Stock won the 68kg category at the US Olympic trials, but she failed to qualify for her place at the Olympic Games. She still travelled to Brazil as a training partner and observed the proceedings from close quarters. She bounced back from that heartbreaking experience to win Bronze in 2018 World Championships and a year later was crowned the world champion. 

Mensah-Stock preferred athletics during her school days. Her twin sister Tarkiya, persuaded her for a wrestling practice session in grade 10, but Tamyrah wasn’t impressed with the sport. Yet, she stuck with the sport for a month until the first meet, which she won and decided to hang around. The decision to hang around was also partly due to the presence of Jacob Stock in the wrestling team, whom she later married. 

More than a decade later, Tamyrah Mariama Mensah-Stock cemented her place in the history of the sport she once wanted to quit – becoming the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. She also became the second American woman after Helen Louise Maroulis to win the Wrestling Gold in Olympics for America. She defeated former World and Olympic champion Sara Dosho in the quarterfinals by 10-0. She outscored all four opponents by a combined tally of 34-5 at Tokyo including a 4-1 victory in the 68kg final against Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu to make history. In August 2021, she was proud to profess her two loves that go hand in hand, ‘I am also married to an amazing man of God, Jacob Stock and guess what, I've known him as long as I've been wrestling’.³

She is regarded as one of the most upbeat athletes at Tokyo 2020. In a post-match interview, she was asked what the first thing that went through her mind was, her response: ‘Thank God it’s over. She hit me so hard!’ and she laughed⁴. Tamyrah can be hilarious, open, and friendly. But once she steps on to the mat, the smiling Tamyrah exits and wrestling Tamyrah enters – unbreakable and unstoppable. If you knock her down, she will get up and wrestle again with her champion mentality.

She’s a devout and unabashedly proud Christian, who incorporates her faith into every aspect of her life. Her father died in an accident after returning from their match, early in her career. Even though she thought wrestling was responsible for that, she overcame that hurdle in faith. 

She turned to her faith when the coach pushed her through grueling practices which ultimately yielded the Olympic Gold. ‘There were moments like that that were incredibly hard and I didn’t think I was enough. But once I got to the mat, I was like “let go, let God”’

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Her faith propels her to excel on mat and in her everyday life. ‘Don’t be afraid to show who you are. I am a child of Christ. That’s who I am.’

She wasn’t afraid to show her appreciation to another Olympic Gold Medalist and firm believer Sydney McLaughlin: ‘@sydneymclaughlin16 you are an inspiration and you said this so amazing. I love this and I couldn't agree more! I haven't met you, but I know I could learn so much from you! CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING YOU. A SISTER IN CHRIST #championsleague #olympics #blessedlife #blessings’

She is an active presence on social media with her charismatic and fun nature. This was her first post on twitter after becoming an Olympic champion which is a positive message to everyone out there, ‘Don't let anyone diminish your light, I know it can be hard sometimes to believe, but you are a light in this world and you are meant to blind people with your gifts from God so shine bright!’⁵