#OffTheMat

A Day in the Life: Olympic champion David Taylor

By Eric Olanowski

PENNSYLVANIA, United States (May 10) --- Olympic champion David TAYLOR (USA) took viewers on a captivating journey through a day in his life as a wrestler — from his intense training regime to his life outside the wrestling hall.

At 11:05, Taylor arrived at ‘K2 Roots’, a business he runs with his wife Kendra in State College, PA since 2017. Taylor dropped in K2 Roots for juice, coffee and to help behind the counter.

Taylor arrived at Penn State University for practice which began at 13:30. He focused on working through some positions, going through drills while wrestling with four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA).

The Penn State hall had seven current and former world and Olympic medalists practicing simultaneously. This includes Taylor, Dake, Kyle SNYDER (USA), Thomas GILMAN (USA), Jake VARNER (USA), Cael SANDERSON (USA) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

After practice, at 17:50, Taylor headed home for his birthday party.

After cutting the birthday cake cut, Dake and Taylor moved downstairs to play a game of pool. He explained his brotherly relationship with Dake and his family as they both chase Olympic glory.

For the record, Dake won the pool game.

The day is not done yet as Taylor leaves for the M2 Training Center in State College at 19:10. Taylor created it to help wrestlers learn and achieve their goals on and off the mat. The curriculum, technique, and training are all based on what Taylor has done in the past and what he is doing today as he pursues his international wrestling goals.

He turned coach for young wrestlers, pushing them for practice and techniques like finishing and defending leg attacks.

Taylor is a world and Olympic champion, but there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes which he shares in the video.

UWW Medical Commission Participates in IOC Conference

By United World Wrestling Press

As the year comes to a close, United World Wrestling Medical Commission participated in the International Olympic Committee World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in Sport and made presentations on some of the work of the UWW Medical Commission.

The two-day conference which was held on Sunday and Monday was attended by Dr Shadgan and Dr Molnar. The team put up a presentation on two topics -- Wrestling injuries during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Referees can prevent injuries in wrestling; an experience from the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

The two presentations also found a place in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

At the Tokyo Games, 287 wrestlers participated and only 28 injuries were recorded during 322 bouts, resulting in 9.8 injuries per 100 athletes and 8.7 injuries per 100 bouts. For details, fans can access the full presentation here.

At the two youth events in 2018, 768 junior wrestlers participated in the Youth Olympic Games and Junior World Championships. The injury rate was 4.54 percent and 10.64 percent respectively. Full details of the presentation can be found here.

Dr Shadgan also participated in the International Federation's Medical Commission Chairpersons on November 24. The conference was organized by IOC.

In another step for the safety of the wrestlers, Hungary's Marton Tomin also made a presentation on 'development of wrestling mat materials to achieve better mechanical properties and improve the safety of the athletes.'