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**lauden swain** · 08-04-2021, 01:03 AM

TAYLOR REACHES MEN’S FREESTYLE SEMIFINALS AT OLYMPIC GAMES; GILMAN LOSES TO WORLD CHAMPION IN OPENER

By Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling | Aug. 04, 2021, 1:27 a.m. (ET)

MAKUHARI, Chiba, Japan - David Taylor (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) won his first two bouts at 86 kg by technical fall in men’s freestyle to power into Wednesday night’s semifinals at the Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall A..

In the first round, Taylor dismantled four-time World medalist Ali Shabanau of Belarus, 11-0. Taylor led 3-0 at the break on a step out and a takedown. In the second period, he converted a takedown and a turn for a 7-0 lead. A four-point double leg finished off the technical fall.

In the second round, Taylor took out the No. 3 seed, American-born Myles Amine of San Marino. Taylor, a star at Penn State, battled Amine, who wrestled for Michigan. Amine scored first on a takedown, then Taylor reeled off 10 straight points. It started with a crotch lift for two points, and then he added four more takedowns for the 10-point margin of victory.

Taylor, who was unseeded, will battle No. 2 seed Deepak Punia of India in the semifinals. Punia, a 2019 World silver medalist, is a past Cadet and Junior World champion.

The semifinals round will begin at 6:15 p.m. local time, which is 5:15 a.m. in the U.S. Eastern time zone. Fans can watch the action live on the Olympic Channel.

In 2018, Taylor won gold in his first World Championships appearance and was named UWW’s Men’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year. The next spring, Taylor suffered a season-ending injury, which ultimately kept him out of the 2019 Worlds. Taylor’s comeback began in 2020 when he earned gold at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier to qualify the USA for the Tokyo Games. Taylor hails from St. Paris, Ohio, and competed collegiately at Penn State.

2017 World silver medalist Thomas Gilman (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) does not yet know his fate, after losing his opening match at 57 kg,

Gilman dropped a heartbreaking 5-4 decision to two-time defending World champion and No. 2 seed Zaur Uguev of ROC in the opening round. The match was not decided until the last few seconds.

Ugaev scored first when Gilman was put on the shot clock and did not score in 30 seconds. Gilman scored a pushout late in the first period to tie it at 1-1. In the second period, Ugaev scored a takedown to lead 3-1. Gilman made it 3-2 with a step out. Gilman scored a takedown with 46 seconds left to lead 4-3. The athletes got in a weird scramble as time ran down, but Ugaev was able to score two points on an exposure with five seconds to go for the 5-4 win.

For Gilman to qualify for Thursday’s repechage rounds, Ugaev must reach the gold-medal finals. In the quarterfinals, it appeared that Ugaev would lose to Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan, trailing 6-4 as time was running out. Ugaev hit a slick inside trip for a takedown with just five seconds left to tie it at 6-6 and win on criteria. Ugaev will battle Reza Atrinagharchi of Iran in tonight’s semifinals.

Gilman represented the U.S. at the 2017 and 2018 World Championships. In his World debut, he secured the silver medal, and in 2018, he advanced to a medal match, but lost for a fifth-place finish. At the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualifier, Gilman beat out U23 World champion Reineri Andreu Ortega of Cuba to earn a quota spot for the USA. In the Olympic Trials, Gilman secured his spot on the Olympic Team, defeating 2019 Junior World silver medalist Vitali Arujau in the Olympic Trials finals. Originally from Omaha, Neb., Gilman was a star for the University of Iowa.

Note, Stevan Micic of Serbia, the No. 1 seed at 57 kg and a wrestler for Michigan and Northwestern, was defeated in the opening match by 2017 World champion Yuki Takahashi of Japan, 7-0. Takahashi was beaten in the next round, eliminating Micic from the event.

Group One U.S. men’s freestyle results
57 kg – Thomas Gilman (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
LOSS Zaur Uguev (Russia), 5-4

86 kg – David Taylor (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Ali Shabanau (Belarus), tech. fall 11-0
WIN Myles Amine (San Marino), tech fall 12-2
Semifinals – Vs Deepak Punia (India)

Group 1 men’s freestyle semifinal pairings

57 kg
Nurislam Sanayev (Kazakhstan) vs. Kumar Ravi (India)
Reza Atrinagharchi (Iran) vs. Zavur Ugaev (Russia)

86 kg
Hassan Yazdanicharati (Iran) vs. Artur Naifonov (Russia)
David Taylor (USA) vs. Deepak Punia (India)

**lauden swain** · 08-05-2021, 12:58 PM

David Taylor Wins Olympic Gold! Gilman and Maroulis Earn Bronze Medals

Earl Smith, Site Editor
8/5/2021
earl@intermatwrestle.com

What a day from the wrestlers representing the United States of America! The earlier session was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, with Gable Steveson and Thomas Gilman putting together dominating performances, while Kyle Dake and Jacarra Winchester were the victims of shocking upsets. This most recent session was all positive for the Americans.

The evening started with the semifinals, a round that featured 125 kg star Gable Steveson. Gable earned his place in the semis after handling 2016 Olympic gold medalist Taha Akgul (Turkey). Steveson's bout against Lkhagvagerel Monkhtoriin (Mongolia) differed from his previous two bouts that were offensive showcases. This was a more controlled bout against an opponent that was set on preventing Steveson from scoring more than generating offense of his own. However the case, Steveson prevailed 5-0 and was never threatened by the Mongolian.

Steveson will advance to the Olympic finals and has a date with the top-seed, Geno Petriashvili (Georgia), winner of every world championship since the Rio Olympics in 2016. It will surely be a match for the ages, as Petriashvili has gone back-and-forth with Akgul for the last six years.

Next up was Thomas Gilman in a bronze medal match at 57 kg. Gilman faced Iran's Reza Atri, an opponent he had previously defeated at the World Championships in 2017. He continued his impressive run and was clicking on all cylinders offensively and defensively. After taking a 5-0 lead at the break, Gilman continued to pressure Atri and wound up with a 9-1 win.

The overall tournament was Gilman's most complete as a Senior-level athlete. He was just a few seconds away from defeating the eventual Olympic champion and didn't wrestle a close bout otherwise.

The Gilman/Atri match set the stage for another battle between the USA and Iran in the 86 kg gold medal match. One of the most highly anticipated bouts of the entire Olympics took place as 2018 World Champion David Taylor met 2016 Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, Hassan Yazdani. The two had met twice previously and in each contest, Yazdani held a solid lead in the first, but was worn down by the American.

This time, Yazdani was never able to generate any real offense against Taylor. He used his signature underhook for much of the match and took ground, but didn't register a takedown. A shot clock violation from Taylor accounted for the only scoring in the opening period, as Yazdani held a slim 1-0 lead. Taylor started the second with a quick takedown from a high-crotch and looked like he may have found his opening. Largely that wasn't the case and Yazdani shut down Taylor's offense and gathered two more points from a caution and one and a step out.

Trailing 3-2 with under :20 remaining in the match and sporting a singlet that was torn to shreds by Yazdani, Taylor had to make his final push. Although never known for his double leg, the Magic Man pulled one out of his bag of tricks and stunned the Iranian with the maneuver. The takedown gave Taylor a 4-3 lead and most of the waning seconds were spent in the par terre position.

Once again, Taylor had done it! He is now 3-0 versus Yazdani, who is undefeated against the rest of the world since 2016. The gold medal is the cherry on top of an already remarkable career for Taylor. A four-time Ohio state champion, number one recruit in the nation, two-time national champion for Penn State, and a leader of four national title-winning teams, before winning a world title, Taylor has now officially "done it all." This isn't to call for Taylor's retirement, because he clearly is on top of the world and has plenty of good years ahead.

American fans were still giddy with excitement regarding Taylor's dramatic win when Helen Maroulis took the mat in a bronze medal contest against the young Mongolian Khongorzul Boldsaikhany. Maroulis found a weakness with Boldsaikhany's defense from a two-on-one and repeatedly dragged the arm for takedowns. In the final seconds of the bout, Maroulis secured an 11-0 tech, which gave her the bronze at 57 kg.

In 2016, Maroulis made history by becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. This time she added a new entry to the record books, by becoming the first American woman to earn multiple Olympic medals.

While Maroulis' history-making upset in 2016 is already legendary in USA Wrestling lore, this bronze medal-winning performance may be more impressive. In the years following her gold medal, Maroulis battled severe concussions that nearly forced her to retire, as well as PTSD and surgeries on her knee and shoulder.

Not only did the Americans win on the mat, but they also were aided by wrestlers they needed to rely on to enter repechage. Kyle Dake and Jacarra Winchester both saw the opponents that defeated them earn berths in the gold medal match, allowing them to wrestle back for bronze. In both instances, the wrestlers they needed to win, upset more well-known opponents.

American Results

57 kg Men's Freestyle

Bronze Medal Match: Thomas Gilman (USA) over Reza Atri (Iran) 9-1

86 kg Men's Freestyle

Gold Medal Match: David Taylor (USA) over Hassan Yazdani (Iran) 4-3

57 kg Women's Freestyle

Bronze Medal Match: Helen Maroulis (USA) over Khongorzul Boldsaikhany (Mongolia) 11-0

125 kg Men's Freestyle

Semifinals: Gable Steveson (USA) over Lkhagvagerel Monkhtoriin (Mongolia) 5-0

**lauden swain** · 08-06-2021, 09:22 AM

Stunning Comeback Gives Steveson Olympic Gold; Dake Takes Bronze

Earl Smith, Site Editor
8/6/2021
earl@intermatwrestle.com

For the last week, it has seemed the the USA Wrestling team has continued to outdo itself. One day, Tamyra Mensah-Stock dominated the field to become only the second American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Another saw David Taylor pull out a clutch double leg to win gold himself and down rival Hassan Yazdani. Today we were treated to a comeback that will live forever in the annals of US Wrestling history.

Gable Steveson was trying to put the finishing touches on a fantastic run through the 125 kg Olympic field. Standing between him and a gold medal was three-time defending world champion Geno Petriashvili (Georgia). Geno and Taha Akgul (Turkey) have combined to win every World/Olympic title at the weight since 2014. Steveson had already dispatch Akgul in the quarterfinals and was looking to make his stamp on the weight.

As he has done all tournament, Steveson got on the scoreboard first with a point after Petriashvili violated the shot clock. He added to the lead with a takedown off of a single leg. Before the break, Steveson had a massive toss at the edge of the mat that only netted a step-out point.

Though he appeared to be shocked, Petriashvili never wavered and got his first points of the bout, exposing Steveson's back after another offensive attempt. Stevenson finished the flurry on top for a 5-2 advantage. Petriashvili finally was able to convert a shot and pulled to within 5-4 after a takedown, but he quickly took the lead, 8-5, after a pair of gut wrenches.

In a :13 second span that will be replayed thousands of times this week, Steveson was able to stuff a half-hearted Petriashvili shot attempt and spin for two points. He reverted to his folkstyle roots and seemingly "cut" the Georgian for an escape rather than work for exposure. The official obliged and stood the two up for a restart with 6.5 seconds left in the bout. After the whistle blew, Steveson got Petriashvili to bite on an outside step, then snapped and circled, and circled, and circled, and finally got behind for a takedown with .02 left on the clock. The Georgian bench challenged by the call was confirmed and the celebration was on!

Steveson became the first US heavyweight since Bruce Baumgartner in 1992 to win an Olympic gold medal. After his hand was raised, Steveson did his customary round off to a backflip. That and the comeback are sure to place the 21-year-old all over mainstream sports and news channels.

If that wasn't enough, Kyle Dake also finished his comeback and ended the tournament with a bronze medal. After a shocking loss by tech fall in the quarterfinals, Dake rebounded to battle two-time world champion Frank Chamizo (Italy), in his final contest of the Games. It was immediately apparent that Dake was his normal self and never let Chamizo in the match. He showed his normal combination of stingy defense, timely offensive, and a high degree of mat savvy. When it was all said and done, Dake walked away a winner, 5-0.

With Dake's win, the US Men's freestyle team saw all five of its participants clinch medals. The last time the Americans were able to produce such a high medal count was in 1996.

The fourth member to lock up a medal, Kyle Snyder, did so earlier in the session by cruising back Suleyman Karadeniz (Turkey), 5-0 in the semifinals at 97 kg. Snyder kept his Turkish opponent off balance all match and on the defensive. Though, Snyder was not able to convert his attempts, he was able to get multiple step-out points and was never seriously threatened.

Snyder's berth in the finals sets up chapter three in his rivalry with "The Russian Tank" Abdulrashid Sadulaev. In 2017, Snyder had a comeback victory over Sadulaev in the world finals, which helped the Americans capture their first team crown since 1995. A year later, the two met in the world finals and Sadulaev won after a quick fall. Both wrestlers are chasing their second Olympic gold medal and have not been tested in Tokyo.

It appeared as if the Americans would have another finalist as Sarah Hildebrandt jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Yanan Sun during their 50 kg semifinal. Sun chipped away at the lead and got the margin down to 7-6 in the closing seconds of the match. Then she hit a lateral drop which sent Hildebrandt to her back for four points and a 10-7 loss.

Hildebrandt still has an opportunity to medal as she'll face the winner of Yusneylys Guzman (Cuba) and Oskana Livach (Ukraine) in a bronze medal contest.

Another member of the women's freestyle team, Jacarra Winchester, competed for a bronze medal today, but came up just short. Winchester was tossed in a headlock and pinned early in the first period by Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus) and had to settle for fifth-place.

American Results

Men's Freestyle 74 kg Bronze Medal Bout

Kyle Dake (USA) over Frank Chamizo (Italy) 5-0

Men's Freestyle 97 kg Semifinal

Kyle Snyder (USA) over Suleyman Karadeniz (Turkey) 5-0

Men's Freestyle 125 kg Gold Medal Bout

Gable Steveson (USA) over Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) 108

Women's Freestyle 50 kg Semifinal

Yanen Sun (China) over Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) 10-7

Women's Freestyle 53 kg Bronze Medal Match

Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus) over Jacarra Winchester

**HuffHall** · 08-06-2021, 12:37 PM

Steveson.......Wow just wow

**lauden swain** · 08-06-2021, 04:40 PM

That was an epic match.
first Magic Man comes back on Yazdani and then the incredible comeback by Steveson.

Snyder vs Sadulaev III with the team championship on the line.

Witnessing the Golden Era of USA Wrestling in international competition for the leg grabbers?

wrestling has been fun to watch with tons of coverage. I have found John Smith to be quite entertaining as commentator. Similar to the late great Ron Santo (Cubs), you never know what he's going to say.

Go Team USA!

Lauden

**HuffHall** · 08-06-2021, 04:52 PM

Love that they show all the wrestling on the Olympic channel, recorded all of it. Greco can be a tough watch at times but overall great coverage and awesome performances by the Men and Women of team USA

**ChiefIllini1** · 08-07-2021, 06:54 AM

I always overestimate the medal haul from the US Men's Freestyle Olympic team. That turned out to be impossible this cycle. Five for five.

GO USA!!!

**ChiefIllini1** · 08-07-2021, 07:24 AM

Did Sadulaev really take zero shots in his match against Snyder? New nickname suggestion: Stallingrad.

Is this mic on?

**ChiefIllini1** · 08-07-2021, 03:58 PM

Sarah Hildebrandt is an ankle lace machine. I believe that she could ankle lace a marathon.

**ChiefIllini1** · 08-08-2021, 08:28 AM

BEST MATCH: Obviously Gable versus Geno for the Gold Medal. One of the best matches I've ever seen. Well, at least until Gable faces Triple H.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Dake's tech fall loss. First, I didn't think he'd lose to anybody but Sidakov or Chamizo. Second, he lost by tech fall. This match showed the value of scouting and preparation. That one counter might have earned the Belarusian a million dollars and cost Dake the same.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The UWW put out a fantastic product. These are the best Freestyle rules ever. The matches were decently high-scoring, and the refs didn't appear to be on the take. We still have to sweat out 8 years of drug sample testing (looking at you, Russia). Most importantly, with the great product, as well as the addition of Women's wrestling, I would think that wrestling will remain an Olympic sport. I heard during the broadcast of a race-walk competition that this might be the last Olympics for race-walking. That made me sad for all of the competitors and spectators around the world who enjoy the sport, and for the devastating blow to comedy.

US TEAM: The USA did spectacularly well, which could be shading my opinion of everything. It would've been better to have Joe Rau, Spencer Lee and a 65kg representative on the team, but those were issues outside the control of USA Wrestling (except the inexplicable Rau decision). I'm a little worried that USAW would hire away Medlin to be the Greco coach. Are those fears unfounded?

TEAM ILLINOIS: Finally, I have to mention a non-wrestling sport. That's women's volleyball. The ILLINI provided two of the six in the starting lineup, Setter Jordyn Poulter and outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. Both were dominant in the Gold Medal match against Brazil, and that was the first Olympic Gold for the US Women. As ILLINI Wrestling starts its climb to the top, I expect ILLINI wrestlers will be challenging for Olympic podiums some day in the near future. Besides the great IMAR.

**ChiefIllini1** · 08-14-2021, 03:38 PM

This is only somewhat related to Olympic wrestling, but I thought I'd mention it. I had one of the most bizarre dreams the other night. Up front, let me swear on the souls of my children that this actually happened.

I'm in court suing Thomas Gilman for the right to represent the United States at 57kg at the Olympics. The Judge is Dan Gable. I'm thinking to myself, "This is going to be a great issue on appeal, as Judge Gable has a major conflict of interest."

Next, I'm cross-examining Gilman, who is getting angry on the witness stand because I'm making fun of him, and this also pisses off his lawyer, who is Willow Smith, the daughter of actor Will Smith. Anyway, she gets angry and starts attacking me. Physically attacking me. And so I turn to Gilman and say, "You see, even Willow Smith is a better hand fighter than you."

Finally, I wake up and think, "WTF was that?"

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