Hometown Report: Atwater’s Kelly makes fifth trip to Olympics

Every four years, Jamill Kelly returns to the Olympics and relives the memories.

How he shocked the world with his freestyle wrestling silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. How he parlayed that feat into a successful coaching career. And how it shaped him.

“It never hit me until I prepared my speech for my induction this year in the California Wrestling Hall of Fame,” said Kelly, a 1995 graduate of Atwater High. “I learned that if I worked hard, I always figured I could do something great. My blue-collar upbringing in the Central Valley had a lot to do with my accomplishments.”

Kelly, 38, is a member of the USA Wrestling’s support staff at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It’s his fifth consecutive Games – one as a training partner, one as an athlete and three as a coach – and he’s viewed it from all angles.

He watched Usain Bolt’s victory in the 100 meters, the come-from-behind win for bronze by beach volleyball stars Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, and Helen Maroulis’ first American gold medal in women’s wrestling. He also enjoyed a chat with Katie Ledecky, the four-time gold medalist swimmer and incoming freshman at Stanford. Kelly soon begins his third year as associate head wrestling coach on the Farm.

“They treat former Olympians very well here. You see all these great stars everywhere,” Kelly said. “It’s like a big reunion.”

Kelly’s story still resonates. He never won a state championship at Atwater or an NCAA title at Oklahoma State, which would have been logical steps toward an Olympic medal. What he had, of course, was passion, commitment and hunger. His run at Athens has not been forgotten by local wrestling fans.

He won three consecutive matches in the 145 1/2-pound class, the third an emotional 3-1 decision in overtime over reigning European champion Makhach Murtazaliev of Russia. A 5-1 loss in the final to three-time world champion Elbrus Tedeyev of Ukraine didn’t dim his achievement. Atwater rolled out a 25-foot red carpet in his honor when he returned home.

The silver medal proved to be a career springboard. Kelly embarked on a coaching career that brought him to Harvard, Cal Poly, North Carolina State and finally to Stanford. He’s closely watching Boris Novachkov, one of his former Cal Poly wrestlers who’s competing for Bulgaria in Rio. Novachkov, who has dual citizenship, won two state titles for Fremont High in Sunnyvale.

“Things have been awesome here,” Kelly said. “It’s different from previous Olympics. We’ve come to a less developed country, but it’s been a great experience.”

USA wrestlers no doubt know who to turn to for inspiration.

“Those old feelings come back when you watch these athletes as they go through their ups and downs,” Kelly said. “Coming back is always incredible.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Hometown Report: Atwater’s Kelly makes fifth trip to Olympics."