USA TODAY Sports

RIO DE JANEIRO — Helen Maroulis claimed the first wrestling gold for the U.S. women on Thursday in the Rio Games. And she did it by beating one of the all-time greats in the sport.

The 24-year-old won in the 53 kg weight class, defeating three-time defending Olympic champion Saori Yoshida, 33, of Japan 4-1.

Maroulis dropped to her knees and started bawling. She covered her mouth with her hand in disbelief. Then she climbed into the stands to embrace coaches and friends. Then she celebrated by running around the mat in a circle and wrapping herself in the American flag. Yoshida wept uncontrollably.

"I've dreamed of this my whole life," Maroulis said. "I put it on this pedestal."

Maroulis had previously won gold at the 2015 world championships in Las Vegas in the 55 kg division. This was her first time competing in an Olympic Games.

"I've been dreaming about wrestling Saori for so long," Maroulis said. "She's a hero. She's the most decorated wrestler in the sport. It's such an honor to wrestle her."

As a teenager, Maroulis left her home in Maryland and moved to Marquette, where she finished her senior year of high school, just so she could train at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University.

A year ago, she won the world championship at 55 kilograms. But she had to drop weight to be eligible to compete at this Olympic weight class.

Which was like trying to chisel bone off a granite statue.

She gave up basically everything that tastes good – chocolate and salad dressing and Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day dinner, trying to lose weight, trying to get down to 53 kilograms, so that she could wrestle in the Olympic Games.

"I didn’t go celebrate (at Christmas) with extended family,” she said. “I had to sacrifice a lot of social time.”

Yoshida was a 16-time world champion who was going for her fourth gold. She hadn’t lost in a major tournament in years, but she had been less dominant in recent tournaments.

Maroulis was on a two-year win streak of her own.

"I should have attacked sooner and faster, but the opponent was stronger than me," Yoshida said, adding that she has not decided yet if she will return in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Contributing: Jeff Seidel

BEST IMAGES FROM AUG. 18 AT THE OLYMPICS