David Taylor

David Morris Taylor III (born December 5, 1990) is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competed in the 74, 86, and 92-kilogram categories. He is the current head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

With his most prestigious accolades coming at 86 kilograms, Taylor was most notably the 2020 Summer Olympic gold medalist, a World champion in 2018, 2022 and 2023, and held one of the biggest rivalries in the sport's history against Hassan Yazdani.

One of the most accomplished Nittany Lions in the history of the Penn State program, Taylor was twice the NCAA Division I National champion at 165 pounds, and earned the Dan Hodge Trophy two times during his collegiate years.

Early life and education Taylor was born in Reno, Nevada, on December 5, 1990. His family moved to Wyoming before he was five. His mother saw an ad in the newspaper for youth wrestling at Evanston High School in Evanston, Wyoming, where Taylor started wrestling. Although initially not having much success his first year, Taylor developed a passion to keep improving and eventually started winning local and national tournaments as a youth wrestler.

At age nine, he attended the Jeff Jordan State Champ Camp in Ohio, and kept coming back to attend the camp each fall. By the time he was in sixth grade, his family moved to Ohio. Taylor attended Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio, where he wrestled for coach Jeff Jordan. As a high schooler, Taylor became a four-time OHSAA state champion with an outstanding 180–2 record and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. He received the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2009 as the nation's top high school wrestler.

During his time at Penn State from 2009 to 2014, Taylor was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion (four-time finalist), a four-time Big Ten Conference champion, and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner. As a sophomore, he moved up from to , winning the NCAA title and being named the best college wrestler in the US as the Dan Hodge Trophy winner with a 70–1 overall record.

As a junior, he faced Kyle Dake from Cornell in the NCAA finals, who moved up to attempt to become the third four-time NCAA champion and the first to win titles at four different weight classes in the history of the NCAA. After a back-and-forth battle, Taylor was defeated 5–4. As a senior, he once again had an undefeated campaign, claimed his second NCAA title, helped clinch the team title for the Nittany Lions, and became the third multiple-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner in history. Taylor graduated with 134 wins and three losses, 50 pins, 42 technical falls, and 29 major decisions. In 2012, he competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, where he went 3–2.

2013–2014 In 2013, Taylor claimed runner-up honors at the U.S. Open in April, defeating Nick Marable to reach the finals and then being downed by defending Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs. After pinning 2012 junior world champion Magomed Kurbanaliev from Russia at Beat the Streets, Taylor became a two-time U.S. university national champion and made the US University World Team on May. At the 2013 US World Team Trials Challenge in June, Taylor went 4–1 with a lone loss to four-time NCAA Division I national champion Kyle Dake to claim third place. At the 2013 Summer Universiade, he claimed a bronze medal for the United States.

In 2014, the prior year's U.S. Open result was repeated when Taylor fell to Jordan Burroughs, this rematch being closer and forcing the now defending world champion to come from behind for a last-minute comeback. After dominating the eventual 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and then-two-time world bronze medalist and two-time European champion Jabrayil Hasanov at Beat the Streets, Taylor made the U.S. World Team Trials final, but was defeated twice in a row by Burroughs.

2015–2016 Now focusing on freestyle full time after graduating from college, Taylor opened 2015 with a fifth-place finish at the Yasar Dogu, where he went 3–2. He then claimed his first US Open National title in May, followed up by a technical fall over Cuba's Liván López at Beat the Streets. In his fourth attempt to make the US World Team, Taylor was once again overpowered by Kyle Dake in the challenge tournament, but he came back and claimed the third place when he beat veteran Andrew Howe. Taylor then claimed Grand Prix of Spain and Stepan Sargsyan Cup gold medals in July, before making the decision to bulk up to the 86 kilogram division on September. Taylor took fifth-place at the Golden Grand Prix of November, and seemed overpowered in his first tournament at a new weight class. In December, Taylor competed at the US Senior Nationals, and after running through '14 US World Team member and teammate Ed Ruth, Taylor was defeated by long-time rival Kyle Dake.

In 2016, Taylor was unable to make the US Olympic Team, as he was defeated by Dake for the fifth time in the senior level, forcing Taylor to battle for the bronze medal, which he comfortably earned. He then claimed his second Spain Grand Prix title on July, and competed again at the World Clubs Cup of December, where he went 3-1 and helped TMWC reach the first-place, while also defeating the accomplished Alireza Karimi.

2017

In his first competition of the year, Taylor dominated the Grand Prix of Paris in January, and despite being initially banned by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he competed at the World Cup in February in Iran. At the World Cup, he defeated four top-level opponents: '12 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time European Champion Dato Marsagishvili in the first round (8-3), that year's World Championship bronze medalist Vladislav Valiev (TF 14–4), '12 Olympic Gold medalist Sharif Sharifov (TF 12–2), and '16 Olympic Gold medalist Hassan Yazdani (fall).

Taylor claimed his second US national title in April, with an overall score of 40–4 against five opponents. After a quick win at Beat the Streets, Taylor made the World Team Trials finals when he ran through '16 US OTT Greco-Roman champion Joe Rau and '12 Junior World Championship runner-up Pat Downey, and defeated three-time NCAA Division I All-American Nick Heflin to make the best-of-three, where he faced returning Olympic Bronze medalist J'den Cox. In the first match, Taylor rallied comfortably with a 9–3 win, but was closely defeated in the second match 4–3, leading to a controversial third bout due to Cox's sweat and alleged passivity, which caused Taylor to kick the challenge cube and his cornerman Cael Sanderson to throw items at the official and a chair onto the mat after losing 5–3.

He came back to competition at the World Clubs Cup on December, where he helped the TMWC to second place with notable victories over Alireza Karimi and Pawan Kumar.

2018 To start off the year, Taylor became only the 12th American to claim a gold medal at the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix, considered the toughest open tournament in the world. He opened with a win over two-time (and defending) Pan American champion Yurieski Torreblanca, followed by Selim Yaşar on points and a fall over '17 Junior World Champion Artur Naifonov to make the finals. In the finals, he got another fall, this time over Fatih Erdin, to claim the gold medal. On April, he claimed his second consecutive World Cup championship, recording four technical falls to help secure the gold medal for the United States. He also clinched his third US National title, with four victories over fellow Americans.

On May, he claimed his first Pan American title, with notable wins over Yurieski Torreblanca, Pool Ambrocio and Eduardo Gajardo. On his seventh attempt to make the US World/Olympic Team, Taylor finally and dominantly was able to punch tickets to the World Championships, when he defeated '18 Bill Farrell Memorial medalist Nick Reenan twice via technical fall on May, at Final X: State College. He then warmed up at the Yasar Dogu of July, with four dominant pins over foreigners.

At the World Championships, Taylor had a tough start, as he faced his biggest threat of the tournament in the first round, '16 Olympic Gold medalist and defending World champion Hassan Yazdani from Iran. After being down two points to six at the end of the first period, Taylor was able to overcome adversity and put on nine points on his side, finishing the legendary match 11–6. In the next round, he tech'd '18 Alexander Medved champion Hajy Rajabau from Belarus, to advance to the quarterfinals. Next, he picked apart the accomplished Cuban Yurieski Torreblanca, to pick up an 8–0 victory. In the semifinals, he had it harder, as he went to the distance against the '17 European Champion and Russia's best Dauren Kurugliev, but was able to score the comeback win 7–5. During the match, Taylor got briefly knocked out after Kurugliev accidentally wheel kicked him on the chin when escaping a single leg attempt by Taylor. In the finals, he dismantled Fatih Erdin from Turkey, overwhelming his opposition with 12 points to two, to claim the World Championship and help Team USA reach third place.

After the year was over, Taylor was named the UWW International Freestyle wrestler of the Year, and was awarded the John Smith Award winner as USA's Freestyle wrestler of the Year.

2019–2020 After time off competition, the returning World Champion came back in April 2019, when he claimed his second straight Pan American title, tournament in where he scored 34 points to none against his four opponents and Team USA claimed all ten medals in freestyle. On May, he competed at the annual Beat the Streets for charity, against Drew Foster, where he suffered a severe knee injury which led him to forfeit out of the match, and ultimately, forced him to stay inactive during the whole year, missing the opportunity to make his second US World Team (forfeiting it to Pat Downey instead, whom he had tech'd twice), to represent the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games or to defend his title at the World Championships.

After almost a full year of no competition, Taylor came back to wrestle in March 2020, at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament. He comfortably got three wins to win the bracket and internationally qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Taylor was then scheduled to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania, where he was a heavy favorite. However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.

Taylor was unable to compete for a couple of months due to the pandemic, but was scheduled to wrestle Pat Downey (whom he was unable to wrestle at the '19 US World Trials) on July 25, at FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo. After Downey pulled out of the bout due to problems with the organization, Taylor wrestled and tech'd the accomplished Myles Martin. After more months of inactiveness, Taylor defeated two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean by points on November 24, at the NLWC III.

2021

To start the year, Taylor was scheduled to face his former rival and five-time World and Olympic champion (at 74 kg) Jordan Burroughs, at 86 kilos, on January 9, while headlining FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Taylor. However, it was announced on January 8 that Taylor was unable to travel to Austin, Texas due to COVID-19 restrictions and the bout was subsequently postponed for four days later and changed its location for Lincoln, Nebraska, thus moving to a different card also named FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Taylor. After a 4–0 lead for Taylor in the first period, Burroughs rallied late to score four points of his own, but was unable to secure the victory as Taylor had criteria, defeating Burroughs for the first time in five matches. Taylor was also scheduled to compete at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane on January 16, but was not able to travel due to the postponement of his match against Burroughs.

During April 2 to 3, Taylor competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials as the heavy favorite and top–seed. After cleaning out All–American Brett Pfarr in the quarterfinal round, Taylor flawlessly knocked off reigning US National champion Gabe Dean in a rematch from their match at the NLWC III, advancing to the best–of–three finals. In the finale, Taylor faced reigning U23 World Champion and Penn State legend Bo Nickal, whom he is close with as a friend and teammate at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. He defeated Nickal twice and did not allow him to score any points while scoring ten combined points of his own, becoming the US Olympic Team Member at 86 kilograms, and qualifying him to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In regards to his close relationship with Nickal, Taylor then stated: As a result, Taylor also competed at the Pan American Continental Championships on May 30. Taylor racked up 30 points against his three opponents while not getting scored on to claim the crown and help the USA reach all 10 freestyle medals.

On August 4, Taylor competed in the first date of men's freestyle 86 kg of the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he looked dominant enough to score technical falls over all of his three opponents on his way to the finals; four-time World Championship medalist Ali Shabanau from Belarus, '20 European Championship runner-up Myles Amine from San Marino and defending World silver medalist Deepak Punia from India. On the other side of the finale awaited rival and reigning Olympic and World Champion Hassan Yazdani from Iran, Taylor meeting him in a rubber match on August 5 after downing him twice earlier in his career. Down 0–2 to a step-out and a passivity point in the second period, Taylor scored the first takedown to tie it up, though Yazdani scored another step-out to make it 2–3 on his favor, before being blasted by Taylor for two points late in the match, resulting in the stunning upset comeback win, shocking the world as the underdog going into the match. This result gained Taylor the 2020 Summer Olympic Games gold medal and extended his win-streak to 54 matches.

As an Olympic medalist, Taylor earned the right to automatically represent the United States at the 2021 World Championships without having to compete domestically to make the US World Team, and did do so in October 2–3. On the first date, Taylor once again ran through his competition, dominating the likes of World Championship runner-ups Boris Makoev and Abubakr Abakarov to cruise to the finale. A fourth match with rival and reigning World Champion Hassan Yazdani took place in the finals, but this time the Iranian came up on top for the first time, nullifying Taylor and snapping his 57-match win streak, marking the series 3–1 in favor of Taylor and the latter leaving with a silver medal.

2022 In June, Taylor stopped two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia twice to make the US World Team once again, at Final X NYC. In September, after dominantly cruising to the finals, Taylor avenged his loss to Hassan Yazdani and claimed his second World championship.

2023 Repeating as Final X champion to become the US World Team member at the weight, Taylor defeated US National champion and teammate Aaron Brooks twice in a row in June. At the World Championships, Taylor dominated once again, defeating everyone on his way either by fall or technical fall, including Hassan Yazdani, leading 5–1 in the series.

2024 Competing at the US Olympic Trials in April, Taylor sat in the best-of-three finals as a 2023 World medalist, where he was upset twice in a row by now U23 World and four-time NCAA champion, as well as teammate, Aaron Brooks, losing the series and staying out of the 2024 Summer Olympics. In May, after becoming the head coach at Oklahoma State, Taylor expressed at a press conference that he had retired from the sport as a competitor, at the age of 33. After notorious wins on the first day over NCAA champion Michael Macchiavello and All-Americans Trent Hidlay and Marcus Coleman, Taylor made the best-of-three finals, where he faced returning World medalist Zahid Valencia. Then, after consecutive victories over Valencia, Taylor was back on the US World Team.

In October, he competed at his last World Championships, and in his first at 92 kilograms. In a battle of Tokyo Olympic champions, Taylor fell to seven–time World and Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev from Russia, in the first round. After being pulled back into repechage, Taylor bounced back defeating World medalist Abubakr Abakarov from Azerbaijan and Lars Schäfle from Germany to earn the right to contend for a bronze medal. In a battle of 2022 World champions, Taylor beat two-time World champion Kamran Ghasempour from Iran to earn the bronze medal, and subsequently retired from the sport as an athlete.

Coaching career

Oklahoma State University In May, a month after a runner-up finish at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Taylor was announced as the head coach at Oklahoma State University, following John Smith's retirement. During his first year, the Cowboys had a 13-1 dual-meet record; clinched the Big 12 Conference title with one individual champion; and finished third in the nation with six All-Americans and two individual national champions, Dean Hamiti at 174 and Wyatt Hendrickson at 285.

Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location

Win 161–22

Win 160–22

Win 159–22

Loss 158–22

Win 158–21

Win 157–21

Win 156–21

Win 155–21

Win 154–21

Win 153–21

Loss 152–21

State College, Pennsylvania Loss 152–20

Win 152–19

Win 151–19

Win 150–19

Win 149–19

Win 148–19

Win 147–19

Newark, New Jersey Win 146–19

Win 145–19

Win 144–19

Win 143–19

Win 142–19

Win 141–19

Win 140–19

Loss 139–19

Win 139–18

Win 138–18

Win 137–18

Win 136–18

Tokyo, Japan Win 135–18

Win 134–18

Win 133–18

Win 132–18

Win 131–18

Win 130–18

Win 129–18

Win 128–18

Win 127–18

Win 126–18

Win 125–18

Lincoln, Nebraska Win 124–18

State College, Pennsylvania Win 123–18

Austin, Texas

Win 122–18

Ottawa, Canada Win 121–18

Win 120–18

Win 119–18

Buenos Aires, Argentina Win 118–18

Win 117–18

Win 116–18

Win 115–18

Budapest, Hungary Win 114–18

Win 113–18

Win 112–18

Win 111–18

Win 110–18

Istanbul, Turkey Win 109–18

Win 108–18

Win 107–18

Win 106–18

State College, Pennsylvania Win 105–18

Win 104–18

Lima, Peru Win 103–18

Win 102–18

Win 101–18

Win 100–18

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 99–18

Win 98–18

Win 97–18

Win 96–18

Win 95–18

Iowa City, Iowa Win 94–18

Win 93–18

Win 92–18

Win 91–18

Krasnoyarsk, Russia Win 90–18

Win 89–18

Win 88–18

Win 87–18

Tehran, Iran Win 86–18

Win 85–18

Win 84–18

Win 83–18

Loss 82–18

Lincoln, Nebraska Loss 82–17

Win 82–16

Win 81–16

Win 80–16

Win 79–16

Win 78–16

New York City, New York

Win 77–16

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 76–16

Win 75–16

Win 74–16

Win 73–16

Win 72–16

Kermanshah, Iran Win 71–16

Win 70–16

Win 69–16

Win 68–16

Paris, France Win 67–16

Win 66–16

Win 65–16

Win 64–16

Kharkiv, Ukraine Win 63–16

Loss 62–16

Win 62–15

Win 61–15

Madrid, Spain Win 60–15

Win 59–15

Win 58–15

Win 57–15

Iowa City, Iowa Loss 56–15

Win 56–14

Loss 55–14

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 55–13

Win 54–13

Loss 53–13

Baku, Azerbaijan Loss 53–12

Win 53–11

Win 52–11

Yerevan, Armenia Win 51–11

Win 50–11

Win 49–11

Madrid, Spain Win 48–11

Win 47–11

Win 46–11

Win 45–11

Madison, Wisconsin Loss 44–11

Win 44–10

Win 43–10

New York City, New York

Win 42–10

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 41–10

Win 40–10

Win 39–10

Loss 38–10

Istanbul, Turkey Loss 38–9

Win 38–8

Win 37–8

Win 36–8

Loss 35–8

Madison, Wisconsin Loss 35–7

Win 35–6

Win 34–6

Win 33–6

New York City, New York

Loss 32–6

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 32–5

Win 31–5

Win 30–5

Win 29–5

Kazan, Russia Win 28–5

Loss 27–5

Win 27–4

Win 26–4

Win 25–4

Stillwater, Oklahoma Win 24–4

Win 23–4

Loss 22–4

Win 22–3

Win 21–3

Akron, Ohio Win 20–3

Win 19–3

Win 18–3

Win 17–3

Win 16–3

Win 15–3

Win 14–3

Win 13–3

New York City, New York

Loss 12–3

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 12–2

Win 11–2

Win 10–2

Loss 9–2

Iowa City, Iowa Win 9–1

Win 8–1

Loss 7–1

Win 7–0

Win 6–0

Akron, Ohio Win 5–0

Win 4–0

Win 3–0

Win 2–0

Win 1–0

NCAA record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event

Win 18-2

Win 17-2

Win 16-2

Win 15-2

Win 14-2

Loss 13-2

Win 13-1

Win 12-1

Win 11-1

Win 10-1

Win 9-1

Win 8-1

Win 7-1

Win 6-1

Win 5-1

Loss 4-1

Win 4-0

Win 3-0

Win 2-0

Win 1-0

Head coaching record

+Overall record Dual Record Conference Champions All-Americans National Champions28-25145

Awards and honors 2021 Olympic games Pan American Championships

2019 Pan American Championships 2018 UWW Best Wrestler of the Year John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year World Wrestling Championships World Cup Championships Pan American Championships Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix Yasar Dogu 2017 World Cup Championships Grand Prix of Paris 2016 Grand Prix of Spain 2015 Stepan Sargsyan Tournament Grand Prix of Spain 2014 Dan Hodge Trophy winner NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference 2013 World University Games NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference 2012 Dan Hodge Trophy winner NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference 2011 NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference

Endorsements In 2015, Taylor and Adidas released a line of wrestling apparel labeled "M2" after Taylor's college nickname "Magic Man". Taylor received the nickname after a collegiate match in which he turned an unfavorable situation for himself into an advantage. The apparel line began with wrestling shoes and has since expanded to clothing, posters and Adidas sponsored events.