Taylor Says World Championships Gave Him Closure, Gave His OSU Wrestlers Inspiration

STILLWATER – I arrived late on Thursday to hear new Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor describe his gritty, come from defeat effort to wrestle back internationally and win the bronze medal at the 2024 Wrestling World Championships in Tirana, Albania at a weight he had never wrestled before 92 kg, heavier than he had ever weighed taking the mat. Taylor, who had lost in the Olympic trials in the spring came back and found a way to compete before he hung up his wrestling shoes. At the same time he gave one of the best demonstrations a college head coach ever could. It was good for his new wrestlers at Oklahoma State and good for his soul.

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Taylor spoke to media on Thursday in the GIA Theater Room.

“Going and competing it just, just gave me closure for that part of my life. You know I’ve been competing at the highest level (in wrestling), so that’s a long time,” Taylor recounted in the press conference at Gallagher-Iba Arena. “Getting a chance to go out that way was great. It wasn’t about the color of the medal for me this time. I haven’t changed as a competitor, I wanted to win. 

Losing the first day the favorite Adbulrashid Sadulaev meant as Taylor said that he needed help. Sadulaev needed to make the gold medal match, which he did and won, in order for Taylor to have the chance to wrestle through the repechage and make the bronze medal match. 

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Taylor speaking on Thursday.

“I also think it helps in wrestling, not everything is going to go your way,” Taylor said knowing three of his wrestlers Carter Young, Teague Travis, and  Luke Surber were sitting in the back of the GIA Theater Room listening. “You know you might lose the first round of the national tournament and you can say, ‘I’ll try next year’ or you can suck it up and win eight matches and get third. It was a weird thing and I have not wrestled in many wrestlebacks in my career. It is a weird thing when your fate is in someone else’s hands.”

It worked out. The Cowboys head coach was back on the mat with a chance to show his new athletes a real lesson, one of life and on the mat. 

UWW

Taylor on bottom won three matches in a row after losing to Sadulaev in this match.

Taylor started his journey on day two with a pair of wins over Azerbaijan's Abubakr Abakarov and Lars Schaefle of Germany in repechage morning session. Abakarov held a slim 1-0 edge after the first period, but Taylor rebounded in the second to secure the 3-1 win. Then Taylor found his offensive game against Schaefle and ended the match in 5:08 by a score of 11-1.

In the bronze medal match, Taylor squared off against two-time World champion Kamran Ghasempour of Iran, who got an early takedown and led, 2-0, at the break. Taylor stormed back in the second period with three takedowns of his own, however, giving him the 6-2 victory. 

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From left, Teague Travis, Luke Surber (middle) and Carter Young.

“It was pretty cool to see,” 157 pound starter Teague Travis said. “Losing in the first round and then coming back and getting third. That is probably what he expects out of us. It is pretty cool to see him fight through the adversity and win all those matches.”

“It wasn’t easy for him, you know because he went there wanting to win gold,” added 197 pound starter and Cowboys veteran Luke Surber. “It cool like Teague was saying because he was doing everything he will ask us to do from that front.”  

“Same with Luke’s point, it’s really cool the same things he is asking us to do day in and day out and when we’re in tournaments and get sent to the back side, you know it is easy for a coach to say, ‘You have to push and get third.’ It’s easier when you see your coach doing it and working just as hard right beside you.”

We’ll see, but there is a good chance during this season we will see more benefit from that bronze medal in Albania than just the attention it gained in the wrestling world about 10 days ago.