Cary Kolat

[WildTurk]

Finally finished off all of the Flo videos on him. Wow, what an animal. That guy did more pushups in one day than I have in a year. Most kids would be burnt out with the regimen his father had for him. He thrived on it.

Possibly the greatest high school wrestler ever. Cary got screwed over time after time and he still managed to keep a level head. That PA guy is a world champion in my book. Props to Flo for making these great documentaries. Keeps me going during the off season.

 

[johnstownsteel]

I'd probably endure the "Kolat Cattle Prod" before giving up my Flo account. Well worth the money. And Kudos to the people at Flo. You do great work...

 

[WildTurk]

Driven Ep. 1 The vengeance of Mark Perry and the sequels are also fantastic views aswell. Iowa and Okie State go back a long way as many of you know. For Mark to commit to Iowa and shun his Uncle had to take a lot of intestinal fortitude as they say. Mark was no slouch but Johnny was the "Goliath" during that time. Mark beating Hendricks is one of my favorite moments ever being a Hawk fan. I cried right along with him.

Another good watch on Flo, since its the offseason, is the Ivan Yaygrin documentary. For those that dont follow freestyle, its one of the toughest tournaments in the world. No mercy. No breaks. Separates the Men from the boys.

Watching Dennis and Bader walk into that freezing water gave me a lot of new found respect for those men. Not afraid of anything. Even the journalist have to man up in Siberia! Love it!

 

[AgSurfer]

Driven Ep. 1 The vengeance of Mark Perry and the sequels are also fantastic views aswell. Iowa and Okie State go back a long way as many of you know. For Mark to commit to Iowa and shun his Uncle had to take a lot of intestinal fortitude as they say. Mark was no slouch but Johnny was the "Goliath" during that time. Mark beating Hendricks is one of my favorite moments ever being a Hawk fan. I cried right along with him.

Another good watch on Flo, since its the offseason, is the Ivan Yaygrin documentary. For those that dont follow freestyle, its one of the toughest tournaments in the world. No mercy. No breaks. Separates the Men from the boys.

Watching Dennis and Bader walk into that freezing water gave me a lot of new found respect for those men. Not afraid of anything. Even the journalist have to man up in Siberia! Love it!

There is also a documentary on YouTube about Ivan Yarygin himself. That guy was a total stud! I actually saw him live twice including his Gold medal match in Munich.

The first time I ever saw him was at a USA vs USSR exhibition dual at Muhlenburg College in spring 1972. He was the quintessential Soviet wrestler. At the dual, he wrestled Goeff Baum who you older guys will remember. (PIAA champ 1967, 2X NCAA champ for Ok State, 1970, 1971) Yarygin picked up Baum and tossed him around like a toy!

Mark Palmer from Intermat and I traded some emails a few years ago where we think that Yarygin was the real life inspiration for Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. The first time I saw the movie, when Drago (Dolph Lungren) appeared on the screen, I immediately thought of Yarygin. There is much more than just a casual resemblance. Also, if you watch the YouTube documentary, you'll see some Russian film of Yarygin training in the snow in Siberia, just like Rocky in the movie.

Yarygin was nothing like the Drago character in the movie though. In another exhibition dual, he accidentally dislocated Russ Hellickson's elbow and immediately stopped and then helped Hellickson over to the edge of the mat for medical attention. He was killed in an auto accident in 1999, and many wrestlers from all over the world came to his funeral.

 

[androcles]

I was also at the US/Russia meet at Muhlenburg in 1972...

Baum lost at 198# to Russian Peter Surikov, 8-2...

Mike Frick , a high school wrestler from Sparta, N j , lost to Russian champion
Nasrulaevz, 10-5...

Don Behm won 3-1 over Chertkov and was the only U.S. wrestler to win a bout... the U.S.won a forfeit and had a tie in other bouts..

 

[AgSurfer]

I was also at the US/Russia meet at Muhlenburg in 1972...

Baum lost at 198# to Russian Peter Surikov, 8-2...

Mike Frick , a high school wrestler from Sparta, N j , lost to Russian champion
Nasrulaevz, 10-5...

Don Behm won 3-1 over Chertkov and was the only U.S. wrestler to win a bout... the U.S.won a forfeit and had a tie in other bouts..

You definitely were there because that's what I remember too. Are you sure about who Baum wrestled? My recollection is that it was Yarygin. He was definitely there at the Muhlenburg dual although it may have been at the next weight. I'm pretty sure that Tediashvili was there too.

Yarygin won the Gold medal in Munich at 100 kilos which is 220 lbs. He pinned all of his opponents. I have a photo of him on my other computer that shows him after winning the gold. I'll try to post it here. You can definitely see why I think he was the inspiration for Drago.

This wouldn't be the first time I got match-ups confabulated. We're talking about 44 years ago!

 

[AgSurfer]

Here is Yarygin right after winning his first gold medal.

 

[ByGrace]

Add my name to those in attendance in Allentown that night. Hard to believe that was 44 years ago. It was so great to watch these legendary Soviet Union wrestlers, several of whom were multiple times World Champions. It was my first exposure to International style wrestling, and I recall coming away from that experience less than enthralled by it. I attended the exhibiton to support our "locals" Geoff Baum and Mike Frick a high school student. Mike's appearance was a natural fan-drawl because as previously stated Mike had just completed his senior year of high school competition, and here he was competing against this mature man-beast or so it seemed. At that time I never could have imagined that Mike would eventually settle in the Nazareth area where his sons eventually became notable championship wrestlers and student athletes for the Blue Eagles.

 

[jtothemfp]

Dag guys, this is an amazing thread!

Thanks for all the great stories and #content.

 

[lionlover]

There is also a documentary on YouTube about Ivan Yarygin himself. That guy was a total stud! I actually saw him live twice including his Gold medal match in Munich.

The first time I ever saw him was at a USA vs USSR exhibition dual at Muhlenburg College in spring 1972. He was the quintessential Soviet wrestler. At the dual, he wrestled Goeff Baum who you older guys will remember. (PIAA champ 1967, 2X NCAA champ for Ok State, 1970, 1971) Yarygin picked up Baum and tossed him around like a toy!

Mark Palmer from Intermat and I traded some emails a few years ago where we think that Yarygin was the real life inspiration for Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. The first time I saw the movie, when Drago (Dolph Lungren) appeared on the screen, I immediately thought of Yarygin. There is much more than just a casual resemblance. Also, if you watch the YouTube documentary, you'll see some Russian film of Yarygin training in the snow in Siberia, just like Rocky in the movie.

Yarygin was nothing like the Drago character in the movie though. In another exhibition dual, he accidentally dislocated Russ Hellickson's elbow and immediately stopped and then helped Hellickson over to the edge of the mat for medical attention. He was killed in an auto accident in 1999, and many wrestlers from all over the world came to his funeral.

 

[Bob_Anderson]

Here is Yarygin right after winning his first gold medal.

This is probably a dumb question, but is it safe to assume this guy was on some kind of cattle steroids? Holy Hell

 

[johnstownsteel]

This is probably a dumb question, but is it safe to assume this guy was on some kind of cattle steroids? Holy Hell

LOL


I took Ag's advice and looked up the Yarygin documentary and in the process found all sorts of neat info on the man. After finding out more, I can see how that man became such a beast . His workout regimen was sick. Ag's right, they had to have pulled up this guy when they created the workouts for Rocky in Russia. On a side note, have you seen pictures of Nick Suriano? Unreal! Word has it he trains like no other. Judging by his physique, I have no doubts.

 

[johnstownsteel]

Dag guys, this is an amazing thread!

Thanks for all the great stories and #content.

Well said! These guys are fortunate to have been witness to such greatness. And to be able to recall so much from so long ago is just amazing. You know you're dealing with someone who truly loves the sport when they not only can rip off names of American wrestlers but also those from Russia and every other country. They no doubt leave me with the realization that I'm a "lightweight" when it comes to being a fan of this great sport. I'm almost ashamed of myself....lol

 

[AgSurfer]

This is probably a dumb question, but is it safe to assume this guy was on some kind of cattle steroids? Holy Hell

I'm certain that Yarygin was one of the strongest wrestlers who ever lived, but I would be extremely hesitant to suggest that he was using 'roids. He looked like a slightly smaller version of Karelin, and Karelin never tested positive although he was tested quite often. Moreover, not only was Yarygin extremely popular and well known in Russia, but he was also well liked and respected by the US wrestlers too.

If any of you guys watched the Olympic wrestling in 1988 or 1992, you would have seen an older Yarygin in the Russians corner because he was the national freestyle head coach for about 10 years. Zeke Jones once told me a funny story about him, where Yarygin and a bunch of US wrestlers were sitting around drinking beer and vodka after a tournament and he got pretty animated talking about how he could still pin all of the US guys. It sounds like no matter where they come from, wrestlers all have very similar personalities!

BTW, if any of you guys saw the Prince of Pennsylvania, there is a brief bit of film with him in it at the beginning where Mark Schultz is talking about how the Russian wrestlers were well cared for.