Larry Jamill Kelly (born October 25, 1977) is an American

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

wrestler. He represented the United States at the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

where he earned a silver medal in men's freestyle wrestling at

66 kg 66 may refer to: *66 (number) *One of the years 66 BC, AD 66, 1966, 2066 * "66", a song by Lil Yachty featuring Trippie Redd, 2018 * "66", a song by Felo Le Tee and Myztro, 2021 * ''66'' (album), a 2024 album by Paul Weller *"66", a song by the Af ...

. Kelly is currently a part of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

wrestling coaching staff, as well as being the head coach for the Tar Heel Wrestling Club RTC in Chapel Hill.

Early life

Kelly was born in

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in north ...

, where he attended

Atwater High School Atwater High School is a secondary school in Atwater, California, United States. It is a part of the Merced Union High School District. AHS competes as a member of the Central California League of the Sac-Joaquin Section. Notable alumni * Berna ...

. He placed fourth in the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

state wrestling tournament as a senior. Kelly spent one year at

Lassen Community College Lassen Community College is a public community college in Susanville, California. It is a part of the California Community Colleges System. The college is located in Susanville in the high mountain lake country of northeastern California. The c ...

before transferring to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, where he became a three-time letter winner and two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

qualifier.

2004 Olympics

Although he never won a high school state title or a college national title, Kelly won the 2004 USA Nationals and US Olympic trials at 66 kg (145.5 lbs) to represent the United States at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. After winning both pool matches by a 3-0 score, he defeated eventual bronze medalist

Makhach Murtazaliev Makhach Dalgatovich Murtazaliev (; born 4 June 1984) is a Russian Olympic wrestler who won the bronze medal for Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the semifinal, 3-1. In the gold medal match, Kelly faced Ukrainian

Elbrus Tedeyev Elbrus Tedeyev (born December 5, 1974, in Nogir, Prigorodny District, North Ossetian ASSR, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian wrestler. Career He is an Olympic champion; he became a citizen of Ukraine in 1993. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Summe ...

. Tedeyev would win the gold by a 3-1 score, with Kelly finishing as an Olympic silver medalist.

Coaching career

Up until August 2010 he was the head coach of Dallas Dynamite Wrestling Club in Dallas, Texas. In 2015, he became a guest wrestling coach for

Daniel Cormier Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler, and current color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweig ...

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist who is currently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and Karate Combat. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

and

Cain Velasquez Cain Ramírez Velásquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American former professional wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competed in the Heavyweight ( ...

, all from the

American Kickboxing Academy The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a mixed martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent traine ...

. Kelly has coached at Cal Poly and NC State University, and was an Associate Head Wrestling Coach at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Kelly coached at Arizona State University from May 2018 until March 2020. In October 2020, Kelly was named as an assistant coach at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2021, Kelly was honored with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award by the California chapter of the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stil ...

.Jamill Kelly
''nwhof.org''. Retrieved December 18, 2024.

References

* 1977 births Living people Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists American male sport wrestlers People from Atwater, California Sportspeople from Merced County, California Wrestlers at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in wrestling 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-wrestling-bio-stub