Boris Novachkov Preparing for First Olympics

Former Cal Poly Wrestler Boris Novachkov Preparing for First Olympics
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The XXXI Olympiad opens Friday night.

Cal Poly’s lone representative in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, however, will have to wait until the final day of competition to go for the gold.

Three-time NCAA All-American wrestler Boris Novachkov is scheduled to compete for the gold medal in the 65-kilogram (143-pound) weight class of freestyle wrestling on Sunday, August 21, the day closing ceremonies for the 17-day Summer Olympics will be held.

“My goal is to medal at the Olympics,” said Novachkov, the second Mustang in Cal Poly’s seven-decade wrestling program history to qualify for the Summer Games. “The key to my success will be letting go of everything and just having some fun out there. The less I think, the better I compete.”

Pat Lovell qualified for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo in the light heavyweight division of Greco-Roman wrestling. A Mustang wrestler in the late 1950s, Lovell has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the California Wrestling Hall of Fame and, in 1989, the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame.

Former Cal Poly wrestling coach John Azevedo, a graduate of CSU Bakersfield, qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States boycotted those Games and Azevedo did not get a chance to compete.

Novachkov, competing in the Olympics for the first time, earned a spot in the Olympics by capturing the gold medal in May at the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier at the Bagcilar Sports Complex in Istanbul, Turkey.

Novachkov, who will represent his native country, Bulgaria, in the Summer Olympics, earned 6-0, 6-2, 5-2 and 8-4 wins in the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier before claiming the gold medal by injury default.

His 5-2 win in the quarterfinals was against 2012 NCAA national champion and four-time NCAA All-American Frank Molinaro of Penn State.

“My initial reaction was relief,” Novachkov said of qualifying for the Olympics. “I thought the qualifying process would be a lot easier than it was. It was actually the hardest month of my life, having to cut 15 pounds every week, travel around the world, and fight for the spot.”

Weeks after the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier, wrestlers who tested positive for traces of meldonium at the Asian and European Olympic Games qualifying events were dropped from the world governing body’s rankings.

Novachkov, bronze medallist at the 2014 European Championships, made the biggest jump in the freestyle rankings, going from unranked to No. 11 at 65kg with his victory at Istanbul.

Novachkov, who holds dual citizenship in Bulgaria and the United States, trained with two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez at the University of Illinois for three years under former Cal Poly assistant coach Mark Perry.

Novachkov currently trains at Stanford with his brother, Filip Novachkov, along with Joey McKenna, a Stanford sophomore who placed third in the 2016 NCAAs at 141 pounds.

Novachkov is currently coached by former Mustang assistant coach Jamill Kelly. He also has spent a lot of time overseas training with Team Bulgaria and, over the last two months, has been to Dagestan, Bulgaria, and Poland for his final preparation.

Novachkov plans to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on August 12.

“The days before I wrestle are the most important because I have to get my weight down and recover my body from training at the same time,” said Novachkov. “It’s really not going to be that fun, but I am not there to have fun, except on the 21st.”

Novachkov will be joined in Brazil by his parents Stepah and Zhivka Novachkov, his brother Filip, his girlfriend Janet, his high school coaches Eric Duus and Bobby Soto, and former Cal Poly teammates Joel Shaw and Kelan Bragg.

Filip Novachkov was a two-time NCAA qualifier while wrestling at Cal Poly from 2006-11.

“My brother has played a big role in my wrestling career,” Boris said of Filip. “We have been competing against each other since Day 1.”

Novachkov became Cal Poly’s first three-time NCAA Division I All-American with his third-place finish in the 2012 NCAA national championships at 141 pounds. He was runner-up in 2011 and placed seventh at 133 pounds as a sophomore in 2010.

During his four years as a Mustang (2007-12), Novachkov posted a 121-33 record and was a two-time Pac-12 champion in 2010 and 2011. He was also named Cal Poly’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 2011-12 school year and shared the Mustangs’ Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Novachkov’s top memories of his days at Cal Poly? “Surfing, skating, athlete of the year. Oh, and partying a little bit.”