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Olympic Wrestling – Penn State legend David Taylor’s path to gold

By Chris Snyder

Gold medalist U.S. David Morris Taylor III (USA) celebrates on the podium after the final of the men's freestyle wrestling -86kg category at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on October 21, 2018. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)
Gold medalist U.S. David Morris Taylor III (USA) celebrates on the podium after the final of the men's freestyle wrestling -86kg category at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on October 21, 2018. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Iran’s Hassan Yazdani Charati celebrates (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran’s Hassan Yazdani Charati celebrates (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images) /

International Record

Hassan Yazdani (IRI)

Overall Record: 99-7

International Titles:
2017 World Gold
2016 Olympic Gold
2018 Asian Gold
2019 World Gold
2021 Asian Gold

Record Against 86kg Olympic Field:
10-0 win over Deepak Punia (2021 Asians)
Forfeit win over Deepak Punia (2019 Worlds)
11-0 win over Myles Amine (2019 Worlds)
Pinned (4-2) Artur Naifonov (2019 Worlds)
16-5 win over Ali Shabanau (2019 Kolov)
11-1 win over Boris Makoev (2019 Kolov)
13-0 win over Javrail Shapiev (2018 Asians)
10-0 win over Boris Makoev (2017 Worlds)
11-6 loss to David Taylor(2018 Worlds)
Pinned (8-4) by David Taylor (2017 World Cup)
6-6 loss to Ali Shabanau (2016 Grand Prix of Paris)

Remember when I said David Taylor hasn’t wrestled the top grapplers in the world in the past two years?

Well in that two year span Yazdani has clawed his way to the top of the 86kg freestyle mountain. Since his opening round loss to Taylor in the 2018 World Championships, Yazdani has gone a perfect 28-0 and has absolutely obliterated the field in a combined score of 272-22.

Yes. You did read those numbers correctly.

Hassan isn’t simply winning at 86kg, he’s “Cael Sanderson’ing”* the field.

Oh, and did I mention Hassan has already faced the bright lights of the Olympics? Yep. He took home gold at 74kg in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

Yazdani and Taylor have toed the line two prior times in 2017 and 2018, in which Taylor prevailed both times.

Can David keep the train rolling? Or has Hassan cemented himself as the one man wrecking ball at 86kg?

Only time will tell. Now onto Taylor’s other major hurdle.

* – This should absolutely be a term in wrestling

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