Tervel Dlagnev fires in on a leg attack against Steve Mocco in the finals of the World Team Trials. Larry Slater photo.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tervel Dlagnev has the experience.

And the medal to prove he can compete with the best wrestlers on the planet.

Winner of a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Herning, Denmark, Dlagnev is back on another U.S. World Team in freestyle wrestling at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

The 25-year-old Dlagnev is ready to see if he can climb a couple of spots on the podium at September’s World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 6-foot-2 Dlagnev defeated 2008 Olympian Steve Mocco to win the U.S. World Team Trials earlier this month in Oklahoma City. He came back strong this season after placing second at the 2010 U.S. World Team Trials.

Dlagnev, who wrestles for the Sunkist Kids, is at the U.S. Olympic Training Center this week for a National Team Camp in Colorado Springs.

Dlagnev has put together another strong season. He won the Buryatia Republic President’s Cup earlier this year in Russia. He also placed third in the Ivan Yarygin in Russia and Alexander Medved in Belarus.

Dlagnev, a past World University champion, continues to train at the Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus.

Dlagnev sat down with USA Wrestling communications manager Craig Sesker for an interview following Monday morning’s practice at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

This is your second U.S. World Team. How much does it help having gone through this process once as you prepare for another World Championships?

It helps a lot. The first time I went through it, in 2009, it was a blast for me. I obviously have more experience and I know what the expectations are. I know what I’m going to have to go through. I’ve wrestled a lot of the top guys and that makes a big difference for me.

You have faced three-time World champion Beylal Makhov of Russia. What did you learn from that experience and how important was it to have a chance to compete against him?

I faced him last year right after the World Cup in a dual meet in his hometown in Russia. There was no weigh-in, so I think he was a little bigger than me for that match. He’s a great wrestler. He has great underhooks to both sides and he is very good with them. He’s very tough, but I gained a lot of confidence when I faced him. I was able to take him down, but he ended up beating me (2-0, 2-1). I can’t let him get me out of position. I have to stick to my game plan and not let him take me out of it.

How did beating 2008 Olympian Steve Mocco in the finals of the World Team Trials help prepare you for this year’s World Championships?

Mocco’s one of the hardest guys in the World to take down. Plus, he’s a really good hand-fighter and he is really good at pushing you and getting you out of position. He wrestles like a lot of Europeans. It was good to be able to get to my leg attacks against Mocco. It was really good preparation for Worlds.

Going to the 2010 Worlds as a training partner, what did you gain from that experience?

I tried to get as much as I could out of being a training partner. I watched as many matches as I could. I came away from that tournament feeling like I can beat all of them if I put together a good tournament. I was able to compete in some tournaments after I lost at the Trials and I think that experience helped me as well. It was frustrating to not make the World Team, but I just tried to turn it into a positive by continuing to train hard and learning from my mistakes.

The 2012 Olympic Games are just over a year away. How much thought have you given to that?

The Olympics obviously are a big deal. People are talking about it and there is a lot of buzz going on already for it at the Olympic Training Center. I have to keep it in perspective. I have to train for a World Championships and then focus on the Olympics after that. It’s definitely exciting to hear all the talk about the Olympics. In 2006, I started working out with (past World bronze medalist) Tolly Thompson and that’s when I started thinking about wrestling in the Olympics. That was when I first thought it was something I wanted to do and that it was something I had an opportunity to do.

You look a little bit lighter than you were earlier in the year. How has that helped you?

I’m probably around 10 pounds lighter right now. I’m right around 270 and I feel better. I’m moving better and I feel real comfortable at this weight.

What will it take for you to win a World title this year?

It is going to take a ton of preparation. The main thing is who wakes up that day and puts together a good tournament. There are some real tough guys in the weight class. I’ve wrestled pretty much everyone in the weight class except (past Olympic and World champion Artur) Taymazov, so I will know what to expect when I step out there.

How strong is this U.S. World Team in freestyle?

I think we have a real strong team. Cael Sanderson brings a lot to this team. He’s been out of wrestling for a long time, but I think he has a chance to win it. Cael beat Jake Herbert, who is one of the best wrestlers in the World, just to make the World Team. Jake Varner has been on this team before and he has a chance to do real well. Jordan Burroughs has a lot of talent. I think Jordan, with his attacking style, is someone who can have a lot of success. And the guys in the lower weight classes can do real well. Teyon Ware looked real good in beating (2010 World Team member) Brent Metcalf at the Trials. Shawn Bunch and Reece Humphrey are both real tough, and Nick Simmons is another guy who can do real well. I really like the team we have.

You were in your first year of wrestling, as a high school junior in Texas, when Sanderson won his fourth NCAA title and finished his unbeaten college career at Iowa State in 2002. What is it like being on the same World Team with him now?

It’s a great opportunity for me to learn from Cael. I have some of the same leg attacks he does and I get into a lot of the same positions that he does. I want to learn from him and pick some stuff up in some of the areas that he’s really good in. He’s one of those silent leaders. He’s not real vocal, but he’s a natural leader by example with how he wrestles and with what he’s done. It’s neat to be on the same team with him. I’m looking forward to learning from him.

What is your plan between now and the World Championships?

I am planning to compete next month in Ukraine and Poland. The plan is to win both tournaments, but the biggest thing for me is it will be good to have some competitions before the Worlds to see where I am at. I need to keep working and keep improving. Three months is too long for me to go without competing between the Trials and the Worlds, so it will be good for me to wrestle in those two events.

What was your best memory from the 2009 World Championships?

Statiscally, it would have to be winning the bronze medal and winning my first medal at the World Championships. It was the biggest accomplishment in my wrestling career, but I wanted to win a World title so bad that it was a little deflating when I came back to wrestle in the bronze-medal match. It was exciting to win and exciting to win a medal, but I had mixed emotions because I had lost a match. I knew I couldn’t be a World champion at that point, but I had to bounce back and try to win a medal. My best memory from that tournament was actually when Jake Herbert beat the Russian to make it to the finals. I was so excited when that happened.