Dan Chandler named 2000 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
04/12/2001


Dan Chandler of Minneapolis, Minn., has been named 2000 Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. This is the fifth time that Chandler has received this prestigious award (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000).    Chandler served as the head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team in Sydney, Australia. The United States had perhaps its best Olympic Greco-Roman performance, winning three medals and placing third in the medal count and the unofficial standings. The U.S. medalists were Rulon Gardner (gold), Matt Lindland (silver) and Garrett Lowney (bronze).    Chandler was the head coach of the 1995, 1997 and 1999 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams.     The 1995 team placed in a tie for fourth in the team standings in Prague, Czech Republic. The team featured two medalists, champion Dennis Hall and runner-up Matt Ghaffari. The 1997 U.S. World team placed 12th in the World Championships. The 1999 U.S. World team placed 14th in the final standings, with three wrestlers placing in the top 10 of their weight division.     Chandler also served as the assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, which featured silver medalist Dennis Koslowski and bronze medalist Rodney Smith.  He served on the coaching staff at the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games. Chandler served as head coach of the 1994 Pan American Championships team, which won the team title. He also coached the 1990 and 1993 World Cup teams.    Chandler works as the state coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaching athletes in the state on all age levels. He also coaches the Minnesota Storm club, which features many of the best Greco-Roman athletes in the nation. The Minnesota Storm is among the most successful club teams on the national level, earning team honors on the Senior and age-group levels. He also coached on the college level at St. Thomas Univ.     As an athlete, he was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams (1976, 1980, 1984). Chandler competed in six World Championships, placing as high as fifth in the 1979 World Championships. He won medals in three Pan American Games, including golds in 1975 and 1979. Chandler competed for the Univ. of Minnesota.    USA Wrestling will be announcing major award winners each day this week on TheMat.com, the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance.    PAST GRECO-ROMAN COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS  2000 - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota Storm  1999 - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota Storm  1998 - Jay Antonelli, Quantico, Va., U.S. Marines  1997 - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota Storm  1996 - Rob Hermann, Pensacola, Fla., U.S. Navy  1995 - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota Storm  1994 - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn., Minnesota USA Wrestling  1993 - Tony Thomas, Fort Benning, Ga., U.S. Army  1992 - Rob Hermann, Pensacola, Fla., U.S. Navy