STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson has decided against competing in next week's Olympic Team Trials and will not chase another gold medal.
Sanderson came out of retirement last year, seven years after winning gold at the Athens Olympics. He won the 185-pound freestyle title at the 2011 World Team Trials before finishing fifth at the World Championships in Turkey.
But the 32-year-old Sanderson, speaking Wednesday at a Penn State media day for wrestling team members going to the Olympic trials in Iowa, said he had no plans to join them on the mat this year as a competitor.
Sanderson decided his responsibilities as Penn State coach and father of two young boys outweighed a run for another gold, the Centre Daily Times reported.
A 2011 inductee into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Sanderson went 159-0 on the mat at Iowa State -- the first ever perfect four-year run through college competition. The success has carried over to his coaching career after leading Penn State to the last two NCAA team titles.
Four Nittany Lions coached by Sanderson do plan on competing at the Olympic trials, including 2012 titlists Ed Ruth and David Taylor. They will be joined by 2011 titlist Quentin Wright and redshirt freshman Matt Brown.
