what: US Olympic Trials
weight:86kg
when: April 19th-20th
where: Penn State University (Bryce Jordan Center)
How to watch:peacock
2024 Olympic Games Watch Party
It's hard to pick David Taylor as a candidate for the 2024 Olympic team — especially considering his performance at last year's World Championships. Taylor blitzed the field with two techs and three falls.
The final match against Iran's Hassan Yazdani was spectacular. He led 9-3 and suffered a fall to win his fourth World/Olympic gold medal since 2018.
The former Penn State superstar has never looked better.
By the way, Yazdani is a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, a three-time world champion and is considered one of the best wrestlers in the world.
Oh, and by the way, Taylor is 5-1 all-time against Yazdani and 21-1 in 22 World Championship and Olympic matches. His only loss was a 6-2 upset by Yazdani in the 2021 World Championship final.
Taylor is just two games away from making the Olympic team for the second time. His world gold medal earned him a spot in the best-of-three final, where he will face the winner of the Challenge His tournament.
If Taylor joins the team and wins his second gold medal, he will join George Mehnert (1904-1908), Bruce Baumgartner (1984-1992), John Smith (1988-1992) and other two-time champions. He will join the ranks of Americans as Olympic champions.
Jordan Burrows (MFS – 74 kg) and Helen Maroulis (WFS – 57 kg) could do the same if they make the team and win gold.
This is the weight David Taylor has to win at home and abroad.
David Taylor at the World Championships and Olympics
Taylor's main opponents will be Aaron Brooks and Zahid Valencia, opponents he defeated in the best-of-three series at Final X the past two years.
2023 Final X: Taylor vs. Brooks: 6-0, 5-4
2022 Final X: Taylor vs. Valencia, 4-0, 10-0
Valencia has qualified for the semi-finals since winning bronze in the 92kg category at the 2023 World Championships. That means she has to win two challenge tournaments and two matches against Taylor to make the team.
Brooks, who is likely to earn the top seed, will play additional matches in hopes of making it to the finals. The Hagerstown, Maryland, native recently won his fourth NCAA title and has dropped his weight from 197 pounds to about 189 pounds to compete in the trials.
The Nittany Lion star was a formidable wrestler, winning the Cadet world title in 2017 and the U23 world gold medal in 2023. His second match with Taylor at Final
Brooks scored the final takedown on a double to lose 5-4, but conceded the winning goal on a lost challenge midway through the second period. It's one thing to win a match against the best wrestler in the world, it's another to win two matches on the same day. Although the task is difficult, Brooks has proven he can be Taylor's successor to the 86kg title.
A Taylor vs. Brooks matchup is what local fans want. And there's a good chance they'll get it.
Valencia will change his weight to 92kg and return to his natural weight after losing 10-6 to Brooks in the 2023 US Open final. The former Arizona State star led 6-0 with less than two minutes left, but Brooks fought back with 10 unanswered points.
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Watch Zahid Valencia and Aaron Brooks face off in the 2023 US Open Final
Chance Marsteller, Trent Hidley, Alex Dieringer, Mark Hall and Max Dean represent the next tier of players competing for the spot. Marstella earned a spot on the 2023 world team with two wins over seven-time world champion Jordan Burrows in the 79kg weight class, but his effectiveness at 86kg (nearly 15 pounds heavier) remains to be seen.
Hidley, who lost 6-1 to Brooks in this year's NCAA Championship final, is a formidable opponent, especially in freestyle.
Hall and Dearinger are tweeners who, like Marsteller, are good at 79 kg, but they will need to move up in weight. Both are NCAA champions and have had success in freestyle at the age group and senior levels.
Don't bet on Taylor, though. This is his weight until someone says otherwise.
prediction
1. David Taylor
2. Aaron Brooks
3. Zahid Valencia
4. Trent Hidley
