Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Sam Janicki (USA Wrestling)
David Taylor Goes for Fifth Gold Medal at World Championships
October 28, 2024 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head wrestling coach David Taylor competes for his fifth world title this week at the Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania, on October 30-31.
A victory in Albania would only further cement Taylor's legacy as one of the best American wrestlers of all-time. He enters the tournament having won back-to-back World titles at 86 kilograms, which followed his first championship in 2018 and gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Taylor also brought home silver from the 2021 World Championships to give him five total medals on the international level.
In all, Taylor has a senior freestyle record of 158-21, including wins in 76 of his past 79 matches. That stretch includes 34 technical falls, 15 pins and a 57-match winning streak from December 2017 to October 2021.
Taylor secured his spot on the 2024 United States World Team with a dominant showing at the Trials in September, where he won all six of his matches and swept 2023 World bronze medalist Zahid Valencia in the best-of-three Championship Series.
This week's 92-kilogram bracket poses perhaps the deepest field Taylor has ever had to maneuver in his career, highlighted by a first-round matchup against Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Originally from Russia but competing as an Independent Neutral Athlete this week, Sadulaev is also widely regarded as one of the most dominant wrestlers of this era with seven world titles and eight total medals. Sadulaev's first gold medal came in 2014 and began an eight-year stretch in which he won two Olympic golds and never came away without a medal. With 11 championships and 13 medals between them, Taylor and Sadulaev's meeting makes for wrestling's most anticipated match of the year.
The 29-man field also includes Iranian Kamran Ghasempour, a two-time World champion, as well as past World medalists Batyrbek Tsakulov of Slovakia and Miriani Maisuradze of Georgia.
Action in Tirana begins Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. CT with competition running through Thursday afternoon. Fans can follow along with streaming options, live stats and brackets available on FloWrestling.org.
Wednesday, October 30
Session I – 4:30 a.m. CT
Qualification Rounds
Session II – 10:45 a.m. CT
Semifinals
Thursday, October 31
Session III – 10:00 a.m. CT
Repechage Rounds
Session IV – 12:00 p.m. CT
Medal Matches
A victory in Albania would only further cement Taylor's legacy as one of the best American wrestlers of all-time. He enters the tournament having won back-to-back World titles at 86 kilograms, which followed his first championship in 2018 and gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Taylor also brought home silver from the 2021 World Championships to give him five total medals on the international level.
In all, Taylor has a senior freestyle record of 158-21, including wins in 76 of his past 79 matches. That stretch includes 34 technical falls, 15 pins and a 57-match winning streak from December 2017 to October 2021.
Taylor secured his spot on the 2024 United States World Team with a dominant showing at the Trials in September, where he won all six of his matches and swept 2023 World bronze medalist Zahid Valencia in the best-of-three Championship Series.
This week's 92-kilogram bracket poses perhaps the deepest field Taylor has ever had to maneuver in his career, highlighted by a first-round matchup against Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Originally from Russia but competing as an Independent Neutral Athlete this week, Sadulaev is also widely regarded as one of the most dominant wrestlers of this era with seven world titles and eight total medals. Sadulaev's first gold medal came in 2014 and began an eight-year stretch in which he won two Olympic golds and never came away without a medal. With 11 championships and 13 medals between them, Taylor and Sadulaev's meeting makes for wrestling's most anticipated match of the year.
The 29-man field also includes Iranian Kamran Ghasempour, a two-time World champion, as well as past World medalists Batyrbek Tsakulov of Slovakia and Miriani Maisuradze of Georgia.
Action in Tirana begins Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. CT with competition running through Thursday afternoon. Fans can follow along with streaming options, live stats and brackets available on FloWrestling.org.
Wednesday, October 30
Session I – 4:30 a.m. CT
Qualification Rounds
Session II – 10:45 a.m. CT
Semifinals
Thursday, October 31
Session III – 10:00 a.m. CT
Repechage Rounds
Session IV – 12:00 p.m. CT
Medal Matches
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