ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club and head coach Sergei Beloglazov have agreed to a contract extension in conjunction with the postponement of the Tokyo Games and the start of a new Olympic cycle, the club announced on Wednesday (May 6).
Over the last two years, since his arrival in Ann Arbor, Beloglazov and the CKWC coaching staff have overseen a considerable amount of freestyle success both domestically and abroad.
Stevan Micic (57kg) and Myles Amine (86kg) qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after placing fifth at the 2019 World Championships last September. Both are currently ranked top four in the world through two of three UWW Ranking Series events.
Mason Parris captured the junior world title at 125kg last summer — just a year after competing in his first major domestic freestyle tournament — while Alec Pantaleo (70kg) similarly represented the U.S. at the 2019 U23 World Championships. Adam Coon (125kg) claimed a U.S. Open freestyle title last summer and is a two-time Greco-Roman world team member, capturing world silver in 2018. Logan Massa (74kg) also claimed a senior national title in December to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“My goal has been to do my best to share with them the knowledge I have and give them the best opportunity to have success,” said Beloglazov. “We want to win world and Olympic medals here at Michigan, and we are creating an environment that makes them better and fuels their desire. It takes some time to build, but the results are starting to show. I’m very happy.”
“As expected, Sergei has proven to be an incredible asset to our program,” said Michigan head coach Sean Bormet. “He consistently delivers world-class expertise, energy and great enthusiasm on the mat, which generates an important confidence and bond with our wrestlers. Our alumni are excited, and our donor base continues to grow; those are certainly key elements to overall success. We’re excited to continue to work hard with Sergei and create something really unique and special at Michigan.”
Considered among the greatest freestyle wrestlers in the history of the sport, Beloglazov ruled the freestyle bantamweight for nearly a decade, capturing two Olympic gold medals (1980, ’88) and five world titles (1981, ’83-87) at 57kg/125 pounds — he also won world gold at featherweight (62kg/136 pounds) in 1982 — after claiming silver at the 1979 World Championships. He won five World Cup titles (1979, ’80, ’81, ’83, ’86) and was a five-time European champion. Beloglazov was inducted into the UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.
A master wrestling technician, Beloglazov has coached internationally since his retirement from competition and, among numerous positions around the world, previously served as a national team coach for Japan, Russia, the United States and Kazakhstan over the last 25 years.
