Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin

Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin was a Soviet and Russian athlete, a freestyle wrestler and a two-time Olympic champion. He was born on 7 November 1948 in the village of Ust-Kamzas in Kemerovo Oblast. After finishing school he moved to Abakan, where he began training in freestyle wrestling under coach Vladimir Charkov, and later continued his training in Krasnoyarsk with Dmitry Mindiashvili.

 

Yarygin achieved outstanding sporting results. He became an Honoured Master of Sport, a two-time Olympic champion (1972, 1976), world champion (1973), five-time World Cup winner, European champion (1972, 1975, 1976), silver medalist at the European Championships (1970, 1974), winner of the Universiade (1973) and USSR champion (1970, 1973, 1974). At the 1972 Olympic Games he won all his matches.

 

After ending his competitive career, Yarygin worked as the head coach of the USSR national team and led it to numerous victories at world and European championships and at the Olympic Games. He was also elected president of the Russian Wrestling Federation (1993) and joined the bureau of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) in 1996. Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin tragically died in a car accident in 1997.