Soviet Olympic Wrestler to Coach at College in U.S.

Two-time Olympic gold medal wrestler Sergei Beloglazov has reached agreement to be an assistant wrestling coach at Lehigh University.

Beloglazov, also a six-time world champion at 125.5 pounds, is scheduled to take the post March 1 pending approval of his visa application.

“He’s known as one of the foremost technicians in the world, and it’s a tremendous asset for him to join our staff,” Head Coach Tom Hutchinson said. “He’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. . . . It’s like having Pele for soccer or (Wayne) Gretzky in ice hockey.”

Beloglazov, 33, captured Olympic gold medals in 1980 and 1988 and won world titles in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1987. The only year he did not win the world’s top freestyle wrestling award was in 1984, when the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. In addition to his world honors, Beloglazov is a four-time European Champion, winning in 1979, 1982, 1984 and 1988.