USA Wrestling Release
USA Wrestling is sending six official coaches to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, including former George Mason Head Coach Joe Russell.
Russell will coach alongside Bill Zadick, the U.S. Men's Freestyle coach for the past five years.
After six years as head coach at Mason, Russell began working with USA Wrestling in 2017 as the manager of freestyle programs. He has helped the USA to 17 Senior World medals, including seven golds, and a World Team title.
Also working with younger age-groups, Russell played a major role in the U.S.'s international success, highlighted by U23 World titles from Richie Lewis and Bo Nickal, the only two Americans to accomplish the feat.
Russell was heavily involved with USA Wrestling throughout his career, earning coaching bids for more than 20 years.
In 1998, he served as the coach of Team USA in a world freestyle dual versus Germany. Also in 1998, he was selected as the coach for the USA Wrestling Tour de Monde team in Hungary. Russell coached Team USA in another world freestyle dual meet versus Cuba in 1999 and went on to coach the U.S. 17-and-under team at the Cadet World Championships in August 1999 in Denmark. For his efforts, Russell was voted the 1999 USA Wrestling Person of the Year for the University and FILA Junior Age Divisions.
In the summer of 2000, Russell was selected to coach the U.S. Junior Team at the 2000 Pan American Championships in Peru. In 2001, he coached a team of USA All-Stars in the First Annual Utah Greco-Roman Challenge in Sandy, Utah. He also served on the coaching staff in both freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling for the USA team at the Junior Pan American Championships in 2002, 2004 and 2014.
He coached Mason wrestler Sahid Kargbo in representing USA Wrestling at the 2012 Junior World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Kargo made the FILA Junior World Team in 2013. In 2016, he coached the Patriots Matt Voss, who placed first overall at 130kg and qualified to represent the United States at the 2016 University World Championships in Corum, Turkey.
