Beijing Olympian Saeed Azarbayjani will join the coaching staff of the London-Western Wrestling Club and as an assistant coach with the Western Mustangs varsity wrestling team.
To qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Canadian wrestling team, Azarbayjani upset three-time Olympian and 1996 Atlanta Games silver medallist Gia Sissaouri to secure the 60 kg Olympic berth during a challenge wrestle-off in April, 2008.
The holder of eight Canadian Senior Championship titles in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle,
Azarbayjani won gold at the Pan-American Championships in 2006 and has competed at the world championships in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. He has numerous international medals as a member of the Canadian national wrestling team for over 10 years.
Azarbayjani is a native of Tehran, Iran, where wrestling is the national sport and where he had his initial competitive career before moving to Canada.
He joins three-time Olympian Ray Takahashi in London where the Mustangs varsity program and affiliate club, London-Western, have undertaken a fundraising campaign to revitalize wrestling.
“Saeed will enhance our coaching and he will be a big part in our high-performance development,” said Takahashi.
Azarbayjani had been an assistant coach with the Brock Wrestling Club in St. Catharines for the past several years and will relocate to London.