Helen Maroulis: America's first female Olympic wrestling champion

Wrestling was never really my cup of tea. But when word got out on South Halsted Street in Chicago's Greektown - my neighborhood at the time - that a Greek American had just become the first US Olympic champion in women's wrestling, things changed and I had to see for myself.

Courtesy of YouTube, I watched Helen Maroulis wrestle her way to an Olympic gold, defeating Japan's three-time Olympic champion, "Yoshida the Invincible." Her single-minded intensity left me awed and mesmerized. It was a magnificent sight of mind and body at work. With her toned body and classical face, it was as if a Greek statue had come alive, right down to her curls and braided hairstyle. It was a moment that validated what I have believed and preached for years, that immigrants and their descendants make American history.

In Helen's face and curly hair, I saw her grandmother and namesake,...