Roman Vlasov: Product of a Coaching Legend

Roman Vlasov
Style: Greco-Roman
Date of birth: 1990-10-06
Height:174 cm
Weightclass: 74 kg
Place of birth: Novosibirsk, Russia

Victor Kuznetsov produced the scariest and dominant Greco-Roman wrestler of all time in Alexander Karelin, but Roman Vlasov stands alone as the great Russian coach’s finest work.

When Vlasov came to Kuznetsov for wrestling instruction as a young child, the future Olympic champ showed little that portended his future greatness.

“He came to us at 6 or 7 and it’s hard to know at that age,” Kuznetsov told FILA. “Most kids are the same. They want to run and play and he was no different. What you could see was that he enjoyed it and wanted to be good at it. He loved to work and enjoyed that. Still, it’s hard to see big differences at that age.”

As long as Kunetsov has been in the coach business, he has certainly developed an eye for talent. Training wrestlers out of Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city, his coaching career has spanned more than four decades. During that time, he produced many great competitors, but the Olympic champions Karelin and Vlasov stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Karelin demonstrated that Kuznetsov could get the most out of a man with once-in-a-generation physical attributes, other worldly strength and unmatched stamina, by transforming him into a wrestler with the most Olympic wrestling gold medals of all time. While Karelin represents a monument to great coaching, Kuznetsov’s genius is truly reflected in his second Olympic gold medalist. In Vlasov, Kuznetsov shows the ability to mold a wrestle who wins championships despite physical equality with his opponents. Kuznetsov attributes Vlasov’s success to his unique mindset.

“Every great wrestler possesses Individual qualities and he is no different,” Kuznetsov said. “I think his biggest quality is his psychological strength and his mental toughness. He always fights to the last second and believes in himself that he can win.”

Vlasov must always maintain his focus and effort in order to maintain an edge over his adversaries in the 75 kilogram classification; he needs to out think and out work the other wrestlers on the mat, who possess the same level of power and agility. This was not that case with Karelin, who never met an opponent who could match him in terms of athletic gifts. For more than a decade and half, the Russian heavyweight could outmuscle every single opponent he faced. Despite this, Kuznetsov maintains that Karelin’s greatness was not solely derived from raw strength.

“It’s not only a question of physical strength,” Kuznetsov asserted when interviewed by VoiceofRussia. “We found and honed his own unique wrestling style. Alexander is a very smart and hard-working person, who is able to discern his opponent’s weak points, and that combination yields extraordinary results.”

Without a doubt, Karelin’s success did not just come from his brute strength, the Russian employed wonderful technique and strategy during his reign over the wrestling world. However, many wrestlers possess just as much technique, and practice just as sound strategy as Karelin, but none have dominated the way he did. The deciding factor in Karelin’s unprecedented run of nine straight World Championships and three straight Olympic golds was his physical advantage over his competition, an advantage that manifested itself as clear as day in his appearance and performance. Whenever  Karelin stepped on a mat, he took with him a legendarily imposing physique, lean and rippling with muscle, while his adversaries usually looked dumpy and flabby by comparison.

Vlasov never enjoys the same sort of advantage held by Karelin over his top rivals. Furthermore, Vlasov’s top competitors offer far greater quality than most of those faced by the older Russian. Already only a short way into his career, Vlasov has had to face great champions in two World Championships finals. In 2011, the Russian claimed World gold by upending defending world champion Selcuk Cebi (TUR), and in the 2013 World finals, he fell to Kim Hyeon-Woo (KOR) in a rare clash of defending Olympic champions.

In the 2012 Olympics alone, Vlasov had to defeat multiple-time World Medalist Mark Madsen (DEN) and 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist Christophe Guenot (FRA) before even earning a place in the finals. Claiming gold required Vlasov a win over Arsen Julfalakyan (ARM) a three-time World medalist and son of Soviet Olympic champ Levon Julfalakyan. After the gold-medal victory over his Armenian opponent, Kuznetsov remembers the pride Vlasov felt in winning a gold medal for Russia.

“Your victory is for the honour of your country and your team so it means a lot,” Kuznetsov recalled. “He feels a great sense of responsibility when he is representing Russia and takes it very seriously.”

Vlasov’s skills brought great honor to his country, as he stood atop the sport of Greco-Roman wrestling by winning the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics in consecutive years. The young Russian undoubtedly enjoyed great elation in his achievement, but his Olympic gold medal was more than just a personal triumph. By becoming the second pupil of Kuznetsov to stand atop an Olympic medal podium, Vlasov ushered his coach into legendary status. Kuznetsov had to wait 16 years since Karelin’s final gold in Barcelona, but a second of the revered coach’s students finally claimed an Olympic championship.

Despite Vlasov’s incredible success only at the age of 23, his revered teacher Kuznetsov knows the reigning Olympic champion has plenty of room for improvement.

“He has plenty to work on, especially in the new rules,” Kuznetsov explained. “ Any mistakes he has in his wrestling will be studied by opponents who will try to exploit them. As well as working on his mistakes he plans to win! Winning at the competitions he takes part in – National , Euro, World and of course all going well at the Olympics in 2016.

If Vlasov continues to win gold at World Championships and Olympic Games, he will become more than just Kuznetzov’s finest piece of coaching, he will join Karelin among the finer Greco-Roman wrestlers who ever lived.