David Taylor 'Cowboys Up' in Bronze Medal Finish at World Championships
An emotional David Taylor raised his hands to the sky following his final professional wrestling match during the 2024 Wrestling World Championships. Taylor may not have taken home a gold but his bronze medal in the Worlds solidified a legacy built on greatness.
Taylor entered the World Championships not searching for glory or fame. He took on the world to prove to himself that this was it. All of the Olympic medals and World Championships led up to this one moment in time. He was an established legend of the sport who was wanting to go out on his own terms… and he did just that.
Good ride, Cowboy 👏#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/r9mDEDhmuB
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) October 31, 2024
Taylor had a whirlwind year leading up to the World Championships. He retired from the sport and was named the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestling program. Shortly after the announcement, Taylor announced that he would be giving the World Championship’s one more go. He qualified for the United States team and the tables were set for one of the most anticipated wrestling matches in the history of the sport.
He would fall to eventual World Champion Abdlrashid Sadulaev in the opening round, and his journey appeared to be over before it even got started in the Worlds. Yet, Sadulaev kept rolling, and much like his career, Taylor wasn’t finished.
Taylor recorded a 3-1 victory over Abubakr Abakarov and an 11-1 win over Lars Schaefle in repechage to set up a bronze medal match against Kamran Ghorban Ghasempour. Ghasempour scored an early takedown and was up 2-0 at the break. Taylor rallied back for three straight takedowns of his own to secure the 6-2 bronze medal victory.
An emotional end to a legendary career 🫡 pic.twitter.com/xSLXR9i3q2
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) October 31, 2024
He went out the same way he came into the sport, with a victory. Taylor was emotional following the win as the announcer thanked him for everything has done for the sport of wrestling. Taylor gestured to the crowd with double pistols firing as to signal the next chapter of his life.
“When you are so good for so long you just never know when it’s time to be done,” Taylor said in an interview with Flowrestling. “I just got an opportunity to go out the way I wanted to.”
“I was just a little kid like every other kid who dreamed of greatness,” Taylor said. “I leave here today 33 years old, the best in the world four times, been to the finals five, finished bronze here. But I end my career and everybody in the world knew who I was.”
Farewell, Magic Man 🇺🇸
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) October 31, 2024
Congrats on an incredible career @magicman_osu! pic.twitter.com/Hfu8ILQXYA
Taylor now turns his focus to a Cowboy wrestling program who will likely enter the wrestling season ranked in the top three with a legitimate shot to make some noise in collegiate wrestling in 2024-25.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.