OSU Wrestling Coach David Taylor Wins Bronze At World Championships

Oklahoma State's new head wrestling coach, David Taylor, secured a bronze medal in the 92-kilogram category at the Senior World Championships on Thursday, bringing his total career world medals to six.

Recognized as one of the most accomplished American wrestlers, Taylor has won four world titles, including a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and has medaled consistently for the past five years. His impressive senior freestyle record stands at 161 wins against 22 losses, highlighted by victories in 79 of his last 83 matches, which included a remarkable 57-match winning streak from Dec. 2017 to Oct. 2021.

After losing to gold medalist Abdulrashid Sadulaev (AIN) on Wednesday, Taylor rebounded with two victories on Thursday morning, defeating Azerbaijan's Abubakr Abakarov and Germany's Lars Schaefle. Against Abakarov, he overcame a 1-0 deficit after the first period to win 3-1. Taylor then dominated Schaefle, finishing the match in 5:08 with an 11-1 score.

In the medal match, Taylor faced two-time World champion Kamran Ghasempour of Iran, who took an early 2-0 lead. However, Taylor rallied in the second period, executing three takedowns to claim a 6-2 victory.

With this achievement, Oklahoma State has now seen 11 wrestlers earn a total of 14 medals at the World Championships. The most recent Cowboy to achieve this was Daton Fix, who won silver in the 61-kilogram category in 2021.

Taylor and the Cowboys are now focused on the upcoming 2024-25 season, set to kick off on Nov. 15 at Utah Valley.