It seems like news is scarce these days. And it’s true, there simply isn’t a lot going on. But this post-holiday pause will not last very long. In fact, things are about pick up in rapid succession.
National Team Camp Begins Next Monday
A week from today at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is the start of National Team Winter Camp, the first such mega gathering in two years. Last season, US National Team head coach Matt Lindland and staff instituted a program-wide strength plan intended for athletes to follow remotely. As alluded to in the upcoming Coach Lindland’s Report due out this week, Lindland subbed out the ’18 January camp and along with introducing the strength training regimen, added in a series of mini camps designated for specific weight ranges (i.e., two heavyweight camps, a lightweight camp, etc.). 2019 welcomes in a return to the previous format that will also include a series of athlete meetings.
The 2019 running of the January camp goes for five days, ending on the 18th. One week later is the Greco-Roman portion of the Dave Schultz Memorial, the first event on US soil this season.
Ivanov
Former Northern Michigan University/Olympic Training Site head coach and Suples founder Ivan Ivanov is back in Marquette this week working with the program’s current group of stars. Ivanov also spent time at NMU last season in effort to put the athletes through various workouts, and donated over $10,000 worth of his Bulgarian Bags and throwing dummies.
Ivanov served as the head coach for NMU from 2002-2009 and oversaw the most successful era in the program’s history. 2008 Olympic bronze Adam Wheeler, two-time World bronze medalists Andy Bisek and Harry Lester, two-time Olympian Spenser Mango, and two-time World Team member Cheney Haight (82 kg, NYAC) are among the athletes who rose to prominence under Ivanov throughout the early-mid 2000’s.
Speaking of Haight
The popular Utah native will be resuming his career at the Dave Schultz Memorial later this month. Haight’s competitive future was reportedly in doubt following the 2017 Paris Worlds, but he returned for last year’s fall edition of the Schultz up a weight class. He stayed at 87 for the Bill Farrell Memorial, where he took second, and then placed third at that weight in the US Open. Haight, who turned 34 last month, went back down to 82 for the Trials and won the mini tournament, but was defeated in two matches by the recently-retired Geordan Speiller. His decade-plus career has been a sparkling one. Along with appearing in two Senior Worlds, Haight is also a two-time US Senior National Champion and a two-time Pan Am Championships gold medalist.
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