U.S. wrestling legend Cael Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, is helping train protege and close friend Jake Varner for Sunday's 96-kilogram tournament in London.

Sanderson nearly came back to London as a wrestler, not a coach.

Sanderson returned to competition in 2011 and placed fifth in his weight class at the world championships in 2011. But he backed out of wrestling at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the last minute, preferring to focus on his family and his day job as the head coach at Penn State.

"Last year was the kind of deal where I wanted to get past that competitor stage where you're always wondering. And I figured out quick it wasn't something I could do comfortably," Sanderson says. "I'm not here thinking 'Man, I could win 185 pounds."

It's a good thing he isn't, based on what Varner's been doing to his former Iowa State coach in the gym.

"I just went two matches with him and he just pretty much beat the crap out of me," Sanderson says.

— Luke Meredith — Twitter http://twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP

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