Wrestling legends holding clinic in Manasquan

Three of America’s greatest wrestling legends, Bruce Baumgartner, Jeff Blatnick and Matt Ghaffari, will be holding a clinic in the field house at the Atlantic Club, 1904 Atlantic Ave., Manasquan, on Tuesday from 6:30-9 p.m.

The appearance of the Olympic stars is part of the World Championships of Wrestling Tour of Legends that is promoting the upcoming World Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In addition to running a clinic, the wrestling stars will sign autographs. Cost for the clinic is $10.

Baumgartner is the president of USA Wrestling and a Haledon native. In high school, he finished third at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association championships. He went on to Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind., where he began forging his legend. At the NCAA championships, he was twice a runner-up before capturing the title as a senior. Competing in freestyle, Baumgartner would win the Olympic gold medal in 1984 and again in 1992. He also won silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, giving him more medals than any wrestler in U.S. Olympic history. With numerous world, Pan-American and national titles to his credit, along with a Hickok Award for best amateur athlete in the country, and his success as a coach at Edinboro, Baumgartner has enjoyed one of the greatest wrestling careers in the nation’s history.

While training for the 1984 Olympics, Blatnick discovered he was suffering from Hodgkin’s disease, a form of cancer. Following successful treatment, he not only made the ’84 Olympic team, but shocked the wrestling world when he became just the second American to ever win a Greco-Roman gold medal. He won it in the super heavyweight class. Blatnick was a two-time NCAA Division II champion in college. He turned his attention to Greco-Roman wrestling after college and made the 1980 Olympic team that did not compete in Moscow because of the boycott. He was in training for ’84 when he had his fight with Hodgkin’s disease. Blatnick is now a television announcer for major wrestling events.

Ghaffari also has New Jersey roots having moved to the Garden State (Paramus) when he was a junior in high school. Ghaffari was a late bloomer in wrestling. At Cleveland State, Cleveland, Ohio, he was an NCAA qualifier. After college, Ghaffari hit his stride in international competition. He won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and earned three medals at the World Championships. He won the Pan-Am and World Cup titles for the United States as well as six national titles in Greco competitions. Ghaffari was equally effective in freestyle where he won the Canada Cup and Pan-Am titles. He is the only wrestler in Pan-Am competition history to win freestyle and Greco championships. Ghaffari won the Hugh O’Brien Youth Foundation Inspiration Award.

A representative for the World Championships will be at the wrestling clinic selling tickets for the event.

For more information or to reserve a spot for Tuesday’s wrestling clinic and autograph signing, call (732) 223-2100, ext. 403.