The U.S. Olympic Committee has approved USA Wrestling’s nomination of Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. as a volunteer Olympic Coach for women’s freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

He will serve alongside National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Assistant National Women’s Coach Izzy Izboinikov, also of Colorado Springs, Colo. as Olympic coaches for the women’s freestyle team.

These Olympic Team staff selections are pending final approval of the U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Officer.

Wilson has served as a U.S. Women’s World Team Coach for the last four years and has been club coach for three of the four U.S. Olympic Team Trials champions.

“Keith Wilson has had a tremendous overall impact on the U.S. women’s wrestling program,” said National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner. “His involvement with the Sunkist Kids and many National Team athletes is not unnoticed. He has given a lot of time, energy and commitment to the program for six or more years. Keith has been World Team Coach since 2008. We want to have continuity with our coaches, and have a World Team Coach for the entire quadrennium. Keith has been that person. Many of the women can attribute much of their success to his efforts. Between Keith Wilson, Coach Izzy Izboinikov and I, we have had a good working relationship for a long time.”

BIOGRAPHY: Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. 

Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo., a coach of the past four U.S. Women’s World Teams, has been named as an Olympic coach in women’s freestyle wrestling for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

Wilson is the personal coach for 2008 World champion and two-Olympian Clarissa Chun of the Sunkist Kids. As coach of the Sunkist Kids club, he coached three of the four women’s freestyle wrestlers who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team: Chun, Kelsey Campbell and Stephany Lee, all with the Sunkist Kids.

Wilson served as a coach for the 2011 U.S. Women’s World Team in Istanbul, Turkey, which placed in a tie for third place in the team standings and featured two medalists. Wilson also served as a coach for the 2010 U.S. Women’s World Team in Moscow, Russia, which featured two medalists and earned a fifth place finish,

Wilson served as a World Team coach with the 2009 U.S. Women’s World Team in Herning, Denmark, which placed sixth in the team standings, with three athletes who placed fifth in their weight class.

He was also a World Team coach with the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team in Tokyo, Japan, which placed fourth in the World team standings and featured gold-medalist Clarissa Chun and bronze-medalist Tatiana Padilla.

He was also a coach with the 2009 U.S. World Cup Team, which competed in Taiyuan, China. The U.S. was fifth in the standings with a 2-2 team record. He was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team staff, and has also coached at the Pan American Championships.

Wilson was named 2010 Women's Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.

He has been a club coach with the Sunkist Kids since 2001. The Sunkist Kids have captured numerous women’s freestyle national team titles with Wilson as coach. The club was the Div. II national champions at the 2012 U.S. Open held in Arlington, Texas, and placed was the Div. I national champion at the 2011 U.S. Open in Cleveland, Ohio. Wilson has also coached numerous U.S. World Team members and National Team members.

Wilson is the owner and a coach at Rough House MMA and Fitness in Colorado Springs, Colo. His club specializes in wrestling, No-Gi Grappling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai, kickboxing, boxing and personal fitness.

Wilson was a Greco-Roman Team USA member competing for the U.S. Marine Corps. He also later competed for the U.S. Army. Wilson wrestled on the college level for the University of Oklahoma. He is originally from Manassas Stonewall Jackson High School in Virginia.