UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; August 7, 2021 – Former Nittany Lion wrestling great David Taylor is an Olympic Champion. Taylor won Olympic Gold at the 2020 Tokyo games with an epic performance in the finals at 86 kg to claim the title. Taylor was one of many Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestlers competing in Tokyo and the first to grab a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics.
Taylor met Hassan Yazdani of Iran for the Olympic title at 86 kg. He fell behind 1-0 early and trailed by that score at the break. Taylor fell behind 2-0 on a pushout with just under 3:00 to wrestle and then tied the bout 2-2 at 2:10 with a takedown. Yazdani took a 3-2 lead on another pushout with just 1:38 left, a lead that held to the :20 mark when Taylor made his move. The former Nittany Lion moved through a strong double that led to a takedown and a 4-3 lead as the clock neared :10. Taylor's second takedown, the only two in the bout, clinched the gold medal in the 4-3 victory.
Taylor advanced to the gold medal match by winning his first three matches at 86 kg, all by technical superiority. The four-time All-American, two-time NCAA champion downed Ali Shabanou of Belarus 11-0 in the opening round. He then took down former Michigan Wolverine Myles Amine, wrestling for San Marino, 12-2.
Taylor handled India's Deepak Punia in the semifinals, quickly posting a 10-0 tech to advance to the gold medal bout.
Defending Olympic Champion Kyle Snyder advanced to the gold medal bout against ROC's Abdulrashid Sadulaev, setting up a classic match-up between the world's two best 97 kg wrestlers. Snyder fell behind 6-0 early and then rallied as the match ended. Cutting Sadulaev's lead in half in the process, time ran out on the comeback attempt and Snyder fell 6-3. Snyder won the silver medal with his run to the finals and is now a two-time Olympic medalist, gold in 2016 and silver this year.
Snyder began his quest for a second title with three impressive wins, including a resounding semifinal victory. Snyder's three wins by a combined 23-2 score have moved him into the gold medal match at 97 kg against the ROC's Abulrashid Sadulaev tomorrow morning. He began the tournament with a 12-2 win over Canada's Jordan Steen and followed that up by shutting out Abraham Conyedo-Ruano of Italy 6-0. Snyder advanced to the semifinals with the win and dominated Turkey's Suleyman Karadeniz by a 5-0 score.
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club grappler Thomas Gilman wrestled for bronze at 57 kg. Gilman left no doubt against Iran's Riza Atrinagharchi, rolling to an impressive 9-1 win to claim the bronze medal, the first of the tournament for the NLWC's entrants in Tokyo.
Gilman earned a spot in the medal round by rolling to an 11-1 technical superiority over Uzbekistan's Gulomjan Abdullaev in the Repechage. The NLWC grappler nearly took down two-time world champion Zavur Uguev of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in his opening round match-up. Gilman lost a last second decision 5-4 decision to the man who went on to win the gold medal.
Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis, with Sunkist Kids in Tokyo and who qualified for the 2020 Olympics training with the NLWC, won a bronze medal at 57 kg with a resounding 11-0 tech over Mongolia's Khongorzul Boldsaikhan. Maroulis lost a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Japan's Risako Kawai in the semifinals at 57 kg in women's freestyle. Maroulis won her first two matches, 8-4 over Ningning Rong of China and 8-0 over Tetyana Kit of Ukraine.
The NLWC's Bekzod Abdurakhmonov, wrestling for Uzbekistan, took on Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan for a bronze medal and left no doubts, adding the club's medal haul and bringing home the hardware for Uzbekistan. Abdurakhmonov dominated Kaisanov and rolled to a 13-2 technical superiority to win his first Olympic medal.
Abdurakhmonov drew teammate Franklin Gomez, wrestling for Puerto Rico, in the first round at 74 kg. He won 10-0 to advance in the bracket. Abdurakhmonov then fell to the ROC's Zaurbek Sidakov 13-6 in the next round. Pulled into the Repechage at 74 kg as Sidakov advanced to the finals, Abdurakhmonov gave himself a chance at an Olympic medal by dominating Augusto Midana of Guinea-Bissau in the Repechage, rolling to a 10-0 technical superiority.
The NLWC's Franklin Gomez drew club teammate Abdurakhmonov in the first round and fell 10-0. His Olympic run ended when Bekzod fell in the next round. Jane Valencia, competing for Mexico and the woman to every qualify for women's freestyle wrestling from Mexico, lost a 5-2 decision to Valeria Koblova (ROC) in her first bout and did not get pulled into the Repechage at 57 kg.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
