Ahad Javansalehi named Assistant National Greco-Roman Coach for USA Wrestling
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by Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
Ahad Javansalehi of Portland, Ore. has been named as an Assistant National Greco-Roman Coach by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States.
Javansalehi will work with National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland and Assistant National Greco-Roman Coach Momir Petkovic as part of USA Wrestling’s professional national Greco-Roman staff. He has moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., where the USA Wrestling National Headquarters are located and where he will assist in coaching Greco-Roman athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and across the nation.
“I am excited to have him here, and to build up our national staff. We share similar training philosophies. Ahad brings some new ideas and some new training methods. He works well with our guys and has developed a great repertoire with the athletes. I look forward to working with him,” said Lindland.
A native of Iran who was a two-time Olympic Greco-Roman athlete for Iran, Javansalehi brings international experience as an athlete and coach, along with a background in coaching here in the United States.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped me have this privilege. I feel very blessed to be part of the USA Wrestling family. I am hoping that all of us put hand-to-hand together to make USA Greco-Roman wrestling one of the best programs in the world. I believe from the bottom of my heart that we can make that happen. We have some great talents who need to be on an organized and disciplined schedule. I see a bright future for USA Greco-Roman,” said Javansalehi.
Javansalehi served as an official U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Coach in 2014, helping lead the U.S. team which placed 12th and included World bronze medalist Andy Bisek. He comes to USA Wrestling after serving as a respected volunteer coach in USA Wrestling’s National Coaching pool in recent years.
Javansalehi was a member of the 2013 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team staff. He was a coach for the 2014 Greco-Roman World Cup team which competed in Tehran, Iran, and also coached at the 2014 Granma Cup in Cuba. He also has been among the staff coaches at the U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Training Camps for the last three years.
He has been an active coach on the local levels in both Salt Lake City, Utah and in Portland, Ore. During his years in Oregon, he has been an assistant coach at Douglas High School, Forest Grove High School, Hillsboro High School and Liberty High School, as well as at Pacific University. Javansalehi also helped coach with the Cobra USA club in the late 1990s.
He was a successful international Greco-Roman wrestler in Iran before moving to the United States. He competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four Asian Championships or Asian Games medals, including a gold medal at the 1992 Asian Championships. He also was a four-time college national Greco-Roman champion for Tabriz University in Iran, where he started the program and was an athlete and coach.
Ahad started wrestling Greco-Roman as a teenager, the first Greco-Roman wrestler in the city of Ardebil, where he trained under his brother Yasoub, Iran’s 1992 and 1996 Olympic Greco-Roman coach. At the age of 17, Javansalehi was both the Iranian Junior and Senior champion in his weight class. Under his brother’s coaching skill, the city of Ardebil quickly became the top Greco-Roman city in Iran, dominating the national championships for over a decade.
“Our main goal is to make our guys in superior condition, the way the United States wrestlers have been in the past. Also, we are going to help them technically be up to date, at the level of World and Olympic champions. I have seen some great potential that can serve this country in the future. We just need to share our knowledge with each other. Our wrestlers will benefit from that. We have great talent all over the country,” said Javansalehi.
Javansalehi will work with National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland and Assistant National Greco-Roman Coach Momir Petkovic as part of USA Wrestling’s professional national Greco-Roman staff. He has moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., where the USA Wrestling National Headquarters are located and where he will assist in coaching Greco-Roman athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and across the nation.
“I am excited to have him here, and to build up our national staff. We share similar training philosophies. Ahad brings some new ideas and some new training methods. He works well with our guys and has developed a great repertoire with the athletes. I look forward to working with him,” said Lindland.
A native of Iran who was a two-time Olympic Greco-Roman athlete for Iran, Javansalehi brings international experience as an athlete and coach, along with a background in coaching here in the United States.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped me have this privilege. I feel very blessed to be part of the USA Wrestling family. I am hoping that all of us put hand-to-hand together to make USA Greco-Roman wrestling one of the best programs in the world. I believe from the bottom of my heart that we can make that happen. We have some great talents who need to be on an organized and disciplined schedule. I see a bright future for USA Greco-Roman,” said Javansalehi.
Javansalehi served as an official U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Coach in 2014, helping lead the U.S. team which placed 12th and included World bronze medalist Andy Bisek. He comes to USA Wrestling after serving as a respected volunteer coach in USA Wrestling’s National Coaching pool in recent years.
Javansalehi was a member of the 2013 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team staff. He was a coach for the 2014 Greco-Roman World Cup team which competed in Tehran, Iran, and also coached at the 2014 Granma Cup in Cuba. He also has been among the staff coaches at the U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Training Camps for the last three years.
He has been an active coach on the local levels in both Salt Lake City, Utah and in Portland, Ore. During his years in Oregon, he has been an assistant coach at Douglas High School, Forest Grove High School, Hillsboro High School and Liberty High School, as well as at Pacific University. Javansalehi also helped coach with the Cobra USA club in the late 1990s.
He was a successful international Greco-Roman wrestler in Iran before moving to the United States. He competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four Asian Championships or Asian Games medals, including a gold medal at the 1992 Asian Championships. He also was a four-time college national Greco-Roman champion for Tabriz University in Iran, where he started the program and was an athlete and coach.
Ahad started wrestling Greco-Roman as a teenager, the first Greco-Roman wrestler in the city of Ardebil, where he trained under his brother Yasoub, Iran’s 1992 and 1996 Olympic Greco-Roman coach. At the age of 17, Javansalehi was both the Iranian Junior and Senior champion in his weight class. Under his brother’s coaching skill, the city of Ardebil quickly became the top Greco-Roman city in Iran, dominating the national championships for over a decade.
“Our main goal is to make our guys in superior condition, the way the United States wrestlers have been in the past. Also, we are going to help them technically be up to date, at the level of World and Olympic champions. I have seen some great potential that can serve this country in the future. We just need to share our knowledge with each other. Our wrestlers will benefit from that. We have great talent all over the country,” said Javansalehi.
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