British Wrestling is pleased to announce that Oleg Druzhynets and David Ong have been appointed as Team England Wrestling Lead Coach and Assistant Team Leader for Birmingham 2022 respectively.
Oleg and David will join Team Leader Jit Rakhra in preparing the team for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. With just over 12 months to go preparations continue to ramp up with England long list athletes travelling this week to compete in the City of Sassari International Tournament.
Lead Coach, Oleg Druzhynets
Oleg Druzhynets has been a GBR Support Coach for the past two years supporting the Build for Birmingham/GBR Senior Squad coaching regularly at Senior Squad weekends. Since the return of elite sport Oleg has coaching additional squad sessions at the British Wrestling Academy for GBR and England wrestlers.
Oleg said “I’m pleased to be given the opportunity to coach England at a home Commonwealth Games. I enjoy the challenge of preparing athletes for competition and look forward to working with Team England as we prepare our wrestlers for the Games.”
Assistant Team Leader, David Ong
David Ong has been the GBR Senior Squad Administrator over the past two years coordinating senior squad activities. David has developed strong relationships with athletes on the long list and has acted as Team Leader or coach on a number of international competitions with GBR wrestlers.
On his appointment, David said, “I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of a Commonwealth Games Team for a home Games and look forward to working with the team to ensure Team England’s preparations and management are the best they can be in the lead up to the Games”.
The recruitment process that led to the Lead Coach and Assistant Team Leader being appointed highlighted the commitment, knowledge and passion for wrestling that exists within the voluntary wrestling workforce across the UK. British Wrestling, Team England and the other Home Nations will need to continue to benefit from this as we get closer to the Games.
