Helen Maroulis And Elena Pirozhkova Working On Technique With The Russians

[@Tazz7859]

Helen has been my favorite, long before she won it all.

[@DagmarSLNY]

Dagestanis not Russians. Dagestanis are not ethnic Russians and as a Russian Republic, Dagestan has more autonomy than Russian Federal Subjects including its own constitution, official language and national anthem. Before Putin took it away at the turn of the century it also had extensive authority over its economy and internal policies. Still, even today it is culturally distinct and, in addition, it is considered a wrestling mecca of the Russian Federation. It's also noteworthy because the Dagestani wrestling program doesn't allow women in its program and the wrestlers originally didn't want to have anything to do with Maroulis and Pirozhkova. They had to win them over in what was initially a pretty hostile environment (the only reason they were even allowed in was because her coach Valentin Kalika was friends with the head of the wrestling program) by showing them true heart and grit in wrestling with them. After the first few days they had won the respect of the wrestlers there and picked up significant skills from them including a move that Maroulis said in an interview that she ended up using successfully against Yoshida when she won Olympic gold.

[@rockit31]

Wrestling at this level is boring to watch. Nobody pins nobody. Give me good old fashioned high school wrestling anyday