The big news in international wrestling this past week was the announcement by USA Wrestling National Freestyle Resident Coach Lincoln McIlravy that he was giving up his coaching position and will return to the mats as a competitor.    Many people reacted to this news with surprise, as if this was something that does not happen often. History, however, shows that time and time again, talented and successful wrestlers often come back for another shot at Olympic glory after a few years of "retirement."    McIlravy is not even the first USA Wrestling national coach to turn in a whistle for a singlet. In fact, two previous USA Wrestling national coaches gave up their coaching position to become athletes again: Dave Schultz and Dennis Koslowski.    People tend to forget that when the USA Wrestling National Team program was created after the 1988 Olympics that Dave Schultz had accepted the National Freestyle Coach position. The Schultz hiring had been announced, and the only thing left to do was for Schultz to move his family out to Colorado Springs later in the year. It was during the Kenny Monday era, and Dave was not having much success getting past Kenny at that point.    Schultz actually entered the U.S. National Championships that spring and competed for one day. He did not wish to face any of the top athletes on the second day (as he was going to be their coach) and withdrew. Shortly thereafter, Schultz made a life decision, declaring that he would prefer to be an athlete. He never did move to Colorado. He decided to train full-time with Team Foxcatcher, and moved his family to Pennsylvania. Dave would be an athlete for the rest of his life, returning to the No. 1 spot in the nation from 1993-95, and wrestling at a world-class level right up until his senseless murder in 1996.    After winning an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Koslowski actually did retire for a few years. He moved to Colorado Springs as the National Greco-Roman Coach, and was instrumental in getting that new program off to a strong start. A few years into the coaching stint, Koslowski realized that he still wanted to compete and still had the skills to succeed. He quit coaching, moved back to Minnesota, and set his sights on the 1992 Barcelona Games. In 1991, he placed seventh in the World Championships, but with another year of training, "Koz" made a complete return to stardom. In Barcelona, Koslowski won a silver medal, losing only to superstar Hector Millian of Cuba. He remains the only U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win Olympic medals at two Games.    The list is long of talented U.S. wrestlers who have supposedly retired but came back after some time off to chase their personal dreams. Some of these stars include our sports greatest heroes, champions including Kenny Monday, Chris Campbell, Bill Scherr, Jim Scherr, Terry Brands, Michial Foy and others. This is certainly not just an American trend: tremendous former Soviet wrestlers Makharbek Khadartsev, Arsen Fadzaev and Sergei Beloglazov got back onto the mats well after their careers were supposedly over. Each of these wrestlers, and others who have made comebacks, have interesting stories on the way back, some successful and others disappointing. I'd like to share a few.    Monday had one of the most courageous performances at the 1992 Olympics, winning a silver medal. He severely injured an elbow right before the Games, and coaches almost pulled him from the lineup. Wrestling basically with one arm, Monday did not allow a point until the finals, where he lost to Korean legend Park Jang-Soon. After Barcelona, Monday retired with an Olympic gold, Olympic silver, World gold and World silver, a true Hall of Fame career. For the next three years, Monday was on the sidelines, watching Dave Schultz compete in his weight division. Going into the 1996 year, Monday announced a comeback. The wrestling world was robbed of the battle between Schultz and Monday when Dave was taken away from us. Monday made the U.S. team for a third time, and reached the semifinals at the Atlanta Games, losing to eventual champion Bouvaisa Saitiev of Russia. Although Monday did not medal in his final Olympics, he almost returned to his level of excellence prior to the retirement.    Campbell, a 1981 World Champion, retired from wrestling during the mid-1980's, when injuries affected his body, and law school tied up his time and efforts. He was never really away from the sport, however, helping coach on the college level and remaining active with clinics and camps. The fact that Campbell did not compete in the 1980 Olympics, due to the U.S. boycott, was part of the motivation to come back, especially when his health returned to competitive levels. In 1989, Campbell was second in his division behind Jim Scherr. In 1990, he beat Scherr, and at year's end, Scherr retired to work for USA Wrestling. Campbell won a World silver medal in 1990. His story ends very well, when, at the advanced age of 37, Campbell won a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, one of the most amazing stories of perservence and desire in wrestling history.    The comeback stories for the Scherr brothers did not end in victory. World Champion and Olympic medalist Bill Scherr quit wrestling in 1990, although he was No. 1 on the U.S. ladder after winning the World Team Trials. He wrestled in the Goodwill Games but gave up his spot on the World Team to Kirk Trost. His time went back into his business career and his family. In early 1992, Bill Scherr announced a comeback. He won the U.S. Nationals and placed second in the Olympic Trials, losing in a tremendous three-match battle to Mark Coleman. Many believe if Bill had come back just a few weeks earlier than he did, he may have been able to get past Coleman and into another Olympics.    Jim Scherr got the itch to wrestle again in 1996, more than five years after his final matches during the 1990 season. Scherr was a gold-medal hopeful in the 1988 Olympics, and had his dreams exploded when he was caught and pinned in the Olympic pool finals by Ohta of Japan. Scherr placed fifth, and never had another Olympic opportunity. Scherr was still Executive Director of USA Wrestling in 1996, and in order to compete, he took a temporary leave of absence from his duties during competition time. He was not able to reclaim the top position, losing in the Olympic Trials challenge tournament to Kevin Jackson (who then fell in the finals to Les Gutches). Scherr returned to the executive office, and ran USA Wrestling until the end of 2000.    Terry Brands did not reach his Olympic dream in 1996, even after winning two World titles. He was beaten out by Kendall Cross, who went on to win the Olympics. His twin brother Tom was also an Olympic champion in 1996. Tom retired, but Terry continued on. During the next few years, physical problems plagued Brands, and it did not seem he would ever get his Olympic shot. However, in 2000, he announced a comeback and put it all together. He stopped Kerry Bowmans in a classic Olympic Trials finals, then claimed a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. His only loss was in a superstar matchup in the semifinals with Iran's Ali Reza Dabir.    Foy was a two-time Olympian, but never reached his goal of winning an Olympic medal. In 1988, he was a surprise Olympian. Trying Greco-Roman for the first time that year, he shocked past World Champion Mike Houck in the Olympic Trials to make the team. Not yet experienced in Greco, Foy did not place in the Seoul Games. The next year, however, Foy won a World silver medal and became an international force. At the 1992 Olympics, Foy placed sixth, just short of the medal rounds. His comebacks came for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, where he was not able to reclaim the glory of his earlier runs for the Games.    I am certain that I am forgetting many other such stories. One of the fun things about the four-year Olympic cycle is the comeback stories. It seems that right before any Olympic year, a number of past heroes decide to give it one more try.    Why do wrestlers quit? Certainly, the sacrifice it takes to be a world-class wres