#OffTheMat

A Day in the Life: Olympic champion David Taylor

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 - 13:03 By Eric Olanowski

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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.

#WrestleBucharest

Ahmadiyev stuns Szoke as Azerbaijan wins 3 golds at U23 Euros

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 19:25 By Vinay Siwach

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BUCHAREST, Romania (March 15) -- Led by U23 world champion Gurban GURBANOV (AZE), Azerbaijan won three gold medals on Wednesday at the U23 European Championships.

As the Greco-Roman competition drew to a close, Azerbaijan crowned champions in Gurbanov, Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) and Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) at 72kg, 60kg and 97kg.

While the three gold medals were not enough for Azerbaijan to claim the team title, they helped it jump to a fourth-place finish behind Turkiye, Ukraine and Georgia.

In a nail-biting team race, Turkiye claimed the team title with 127 points, Ukraine finished second with 126 points and Georgia was third with 125 points. Azerbaijan ended with 123 points.

While Gurbanov and Aliyev were cautious in their wins, it was Ahmadiyev who stunned everyone with a victory via fall over world silver medalist and U23 world champion Alex SZOKE (HUN) in the final.

A stunned Szoke argued with the officials and even tried to challenge the call but to no avail as the pin was called by the referees.

Ahmadiyev was called for passivity in the first period and when Szoke was trying to score a gut wrench, both wrestlers went up on their feet with Szoke still holding Ahmadiyev in a bodylock.

At this point, Ahmadiyev threw his arm around Szoke's head and brought him down with his back on the mat and held him there. The referee was about to call for a pin when Szoke jumped out of the hold.

However, the referee delegation intervened and announced that the pin was already called by the referees and it will stand, giving Ahmadiyev a stunning victory and his first major medal at any competition.

Szoke was agitated over the decision but was cooled down by his coach and Olympic champion Viktor LORINCZ (HUN).

Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) won the 72kg gold medal in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 72kg, Gurbanov followed his U20 and U23 world titles with gold in Bucharest after a solid display of defense over the two days. In the semifinal, he defeated defending champion Girogi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) 1-1 after the two wrestlers exchanged passivities.

In the final, he faced Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), an opponent he defeated 7-1 in the semifinal of U23 Worlds. Mirzoiev used different tactics but the result remained the same. Gurbanov claimed an 8-0 win over the Ukrainian.

Gurbanov, who scored an early stepout, ran to a 6-0 lead at the break after getting the par terre position. He scored two turns from that. In the second period, Mirzoiev never came close to troubling Gurbanov who scored a takedown with just under two minutes remaining in the final.

Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) scored a 5-3 win over Melkamu FETENE (ISR) to win the 60kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 60kg, Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) denied Melkamu FETENE (ISR) a historic gold medal as the Azerbaijan youngster defeated Fetene 5-3 in the 60kg final.

Fetene was hoping to become the first wrestler from Israel to become a European champion since Stepan DUBOV (ISR) won the 2001 U17 European title.

The U23 World bronze medalist did have his chances in the final when he led 1-0 after the break and later managed to score two points on Aliyev. But Aliyev scored a stepout, a point for passivity and snapped Fetene for a takedown.

Fetene used a toss in the same sequence but challenged the call, asking for four. He lost the challenge and gave up another point which gave Aliyev a 5-3 win.

Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN) defeated U23 world champion Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) 6-0 in the 82kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Finland wins second gold

Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) could have been another U23 world champ to win gold but he suffered a shocking 6-0 loss to Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN) in the 82kg final.

Sarkkinen joined teammate Tino OJALA (FIN) as Finland's gold medalist at the event as the country which had only one U23 European champion so far added two more in two days.

The U20 European silver medalist Sarkkinen used his counter-attacking style to frustrate Mukubu and scored points when Mukubu thought he had the momentum.

After locking Sarkkinen's arms twice, Mukubu tried forcing a stepout but Sarkkinen had cleverly forced Mukubu to step out first, a point he won after a challenge.

In a similar move, Sarkkinen unleashed an arm throw when Mukubu was about to push him out of bounds. That got him four points and a surprise for Mukubu.

It was always difficult to come back from 5-0 down and then Mukubu conceded another stepout to make things even worse for himself. Sarkkinen managed to stay calm and defend against all other attacks and claim the gold.

Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) defend his U23 European title in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 67kg, defending champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) went back-to-back after beating Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR) in a tight gold medal bout.

Chkhikvadze has continued to impress since winning the U20 European title in 2021. He has added a U20 world silver medal, U23 European gold and U23 world bronze since then.

In the final against Yildirim, Chkhikvadze had to work harder than in his previous bouts as he managed to win 2-1. Both wrestlers got a passivity each but Chkhikvadze got a stepout late in the bout which was the difference between the two and the gold medal.

On Tuesday, Chkhikvadze did not give up a single point in three bouts, winning 7-0 against Shon NADORGIN (ISR), 9-0 against Maksym LIU (UKR) and 11-0 against Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM).

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RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Melkamu FETENE (ISR), 5-3

BRONZE: Mert ILBARS (TUR) df. Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO), 10-0
BRONZE: Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR) df. Georgios SCARPELLO (GER), 7-1

67kg
GOLD: Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) df. Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR), 2-1

BRONZE: Ivo ILIEV (BUL) df. Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE), 10-8
BRONZE: Shon NADORGIN (ISR) df. Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 5-5

72kg
GOLD: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) df. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 8-0

BRONZE: Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) df. Igor BOTEZ (ROU), 7-0
BRONZE: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN), 5-0

82kg
GOLD: Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN) df. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR), 6-0

BRONZE: Adam GARDZIOLA (POL) df. Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE), 2-2
BRONZE: Saba MAMALADZE (GEO) df. Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB), 5-1

97kg
GOLD: Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), via fall

BRONZE: Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) df. Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV (UKR), 5-0 
BRONZE: Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM) df. Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU), 6-0