Tervel Dlagnev

Tervel Ivaylov Dlagnev (Bulgarian: Тервел Ивайлов Длагнев, born November 19, 1985) is a Bulgarian American amateur freestyle wrestler, who represents the United States in the 125 kg weight division. He earned a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and finished 5th at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Tervel Dlagnev

Dlagnev at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	Bulgarian American
Born	November 19, 1985 Sofia, Bulgaria[1]
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2]
Sport
Sport	Freestyle wrestling
College team	Nebraska–Kearney Lopers
Club	Sunkist Kids[3]
Coached by	Henry Harmony. Marc Bauer[3] Lou Rosselli
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2012 London 120 kg World Championships Herning 2009 120 kg Tashkent 2014 125 kg World Cup 2012 Baku 120 kg 2013 Tehran 120 kg 2014 Los Angeles 125 kg 2015 Los Angeles 125 kg Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara 120 kg Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2011 Krasnoyarsk 125 kg 2012 Krasnoyarsk 125 kg Alexander Medved International 2010 Minsk 125 kg 2011 Minsk 125 kg 2013 Minsk 125 kg World University Championships 2008 Thessaloniki 120 kg
Updated on May 17, 2012.

Early life

Dlagnev was born in Bulgaria, and at the age of four moved with his family to the United States. He went to Arlington High School in Arlington, Texas, where he took up wrestling as a way to lose weight.[1][3] Dlagnev only wrestled three years in high school, where he finished third and fourth at the Texas state championships in 2003 and 2002, respectively.[4][5]

College career

Dlagnev was a four-time All-American and a two-time NCAA Division II national champion in the heavyweight division for the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) in 2007 and 2008; in 2008, Dlagnev led UNK to their first ever team title and helped recruit Kamaru Usman to UNK.[6][7] His win secured the national championship not just for himself, but also for the University of Nebraska at Kearney wrestling team. UNK won the team title by 1/2 a point over Minnesota-State Mankato. In doing this, Dlagnev capped his senior season at a perfect 38-0.

Dlagnev was a 2006 Midlands Champion at 285 lbs. He also is one of a few non D1 wrestlers to wrestle at the NWCA All-Star Classic. At the 2007 All-Star Classic, Dlagnev defeated Wade Sauer of Cal-State Fullerton 11-7.

International career

Dlagnev has made eight national teams (Top 3 at the World Team Trials) since 2009, winning the World Team Trials each year with the exception of 2010. Dlagnev has won two bronze medals at the World Wrestling Championships, in 2009 and 2014. At the 2009 World Wrestling Championships, Dlagnev finished 4–1 with a loss in the semifinals to Fardin Masoumi, while at the 2014 World Wrestling Championships Dlagnev also finished 4–1 with a loss in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Taha Akgül.

Dlagnev finished fifth at the World Championships in 2011 and 2013, while finishing with a third place bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.[8] During the wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Dlagnev finished in fifth place after he was pinned by Artur Taymazov from Uzbekistan in the semi-final and suffered a loss against Komeil Ghasemi from Iran in his bronze medal bout due to separated cartilage in his rib cage.[9] On 23 July 2019 it was announced that as a result of retesting samples, Artur Taymazov had been disqualified from the 2012 Olympics for a drug violation, and his gold medal from that event also withdrawn. This result elevated Dlagnev to third place, and is now the 2012 Olympic 120 kg bronze medalist.

In 2015, Dlagnev won the United States World Team Trials but was unable to compete at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships and was replaced by Zach Rey, who was runner-up at the trials. Dlagnev also won the Olympic Trials in 2016 and represented the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, where he reached the semi-finals, but again missed out on a medal after losing to Geno Petriashvili in his bronze medal bout.

Other tournaments won by Dlagnev include the US Open (2011–2015), World University Games in 2008, Pan American Games in 2011, Alexander Medved International (2010, 2013), Cerro Pelado International in 2012, and the New York AC International Open (2008–2010, 2012)

In 2019, the two-time Olympian had his 2012 Olympic results upgraded to bronze in the 120kg freestyle class following the International Olympic Committee's announcement they are stripping Uzbekistan's Artur Taymazov of his gold medal for a doping violation. Dlagnev had originally finished fifth, but Davit Modzmanashvili was stripped of his silver earlier in the year.[10]

Coaching Career: Dlagnev is currently the head freestyle coach at the Ohio Regional Training Center (ORTC) and also serves as an assistant coach to Tom Ryan for Ohio State University.

References

1. Tervel Dlagnev. nbcolympics.com
2. Tervel Ivaylov Dlagnev. rio2016.com
3. "Tervel Dlagnev". Team USA. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
4. Steen, Alex (May 17, 2016). "Olympic Wrestling Profile: Tervel Dlagnev 125 KG". The Open Mat. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
5. Nebraska Kearney Lopers – Tervel Dlagnev. Lopers.com (May 8, 2010). Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
6. Gray, Timothy (July 10, 2020). "Recalling Kamaru Usman's time with the UNK wrestling team ahead of his main event at UFC Fight Island". Lincoln Journal-Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
7. USA Wrestling – Features, Events, Results | Team USA. Themat.com. Retrieved on August 29, 2016.
8. USA Wrestling – Features, Events, Results | Team USA Archived December 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Themat.com. Retrieved on August 29, 2016.
9. Williams, Charlean. "Former Arlington High wrestler Tervel Dlagnev disappointed with Olympic finish". Austin Star Telegram 8/12/12. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
10. https://unitedworldwrestling.org/article/ioc-determines-taymazov-fails-london-re-test

External links

• Profile at TheMat.com