// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Jamill Kelly go to the store? To get a grip on jam.
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 Kelly in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Larry Jamill Kelly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 25, 1977 (age 48) Atwater, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Events | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Oklahoma State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Gator Wrestling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | John Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Larry Jamill Kelly (born October 25, 1977) is an American freestyle wrestler. He represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games where he earned a silver medal in men's freestyle wrestling at 66 kg.
Early life
[edit]
Kelly was born in Atwater, California, where he attended Atwater High School.[1] He placed fourth in the California state wrestling tournament as a senior. Kelly spent one year at Lassen Community College, before transferring to Oklahoma State University, where he became a three-time letter winner and two-time NCAA qualifier.
2004 Olympics
[edit]Although he never won a high school state title or a college national title, Kelly won the 2004 USA Nationals and US Olympic trials at 66 kg (145.5 lbs) to represent the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics. After winning both pool matches by a 3-0 score, he defeated eventual bronze medalist Makhach Murtazaliev of Russia in the semifinal, 3-1. In the gold medal match, Kelly faced Ukrainian Elbrus Tedeyev. Tedeyev would win the gold by a 3-1 score, with Kelly finishing as an Olympic silver medalist.
Coaching career
[edit]In 2007, Kelly served as a coach at Harvard, helping the program to their highest ever NCAA team finish. From 2007 to 2010, he was the head coach of Dallas Dynamite Wrestling Club in Dallas, Texas. He coached at Cal Poly from 2011 to 2012, where he helped Borislav Novachkov to an NCAA All-American finish. He then served as a coach at NC State from 2012 to 2014, where he helped Nick Gwiazdowski win an NCAA championship.[2]
In 2015, he became a guest wrestling coach for Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold and Cain Velasquez, all from the American Kickboxing Academy.[3]
From 2014 to 2018, Kelly served as an associate head coach at Stanford.[4] He then served as an assistant coach at Arizona State from 2018 to 2020, where Zahid Valencia won an NCAA championship, before serving as an assistant coach at UNC Chapel Hill from 2020 to 2023, where he helped guide Austin O'Connor to two NCAA championships.[5]
Kelly came back to NC State in 2025, where he serves as a coach for the Wolfpack RTC.[6] In 2025, he helped assist with Trent Hidlay winning a World Championship, the first wrestler from NC State to do so.[7]
Honors
[edit]In 2021, Kelly was honored with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award by the California chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Jamill Kelly - Wrestling Coach". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- ↑ Jamill Kelly. Sun Devil Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
- ↑ Countdown to UFC 188: Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum Archived June 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Jamill Kelly - Stanford Cardinal - Official Athletics Website. Stanford Cardinal. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
- ↑ Jamill Kelly - Wrestling Coach. University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
- ↑ Meet Our Wolfpack RTC's Team. Wolfpack RTC. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
- ↑ (September 15, 2025). Trent Hidlay Crowned 2025 Senior World Champion at 92KG. NC State University Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
- ↑ Jamill Kelly. nwhof.org. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jamill Kelly". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012.
  | This article about a wrestling Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers
- Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling
- American male sport wrestlers
- People from Atwater, California
- Sportspeople from Merced County, California
- Wrestlers at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in wrestling
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- 21st-century American sportsmen
- Freestyle wrestlers
- American wrestling Olympic medalist stubs