’21 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year: Vlasov and Maroulis

Roman VLASOV (RWF) and Helen MAROULIS (USA) have been named United World Wrestling’s ’21 Male/Female Comeback Athletes of the Year. After the Russian Olympic Committee inserted Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RWF) into their Tokyo Olympic lineup at 77kg, Roman Vlasov’s dreams of winning a third consecutive Olympic title were put on hold until the ’24 Paris Olympic Games. The 31-year-old Russian great put the Tokyo snub in the rearview mirror and captained Russia’s lineup at the Oslo World Championships with renewed vigor. He led his country to the GR team title while reaching the top of the world podium for the third time in his storied career.