USA’s David Taylor strikes late for wrestling gold

BRACKET

Yazdanicharati had the 2016 gold medal, albeit in a smaller weight class. At the 86kg class, he had won the world championship in 2017 and 2019.

But Taylor, who had not yet competed in the Olympics, won that title in 2018. He beat Yazdanicharati on the way to that championship, as he did in the 2017 World Cup.

In Thursday’s Olympic final, Taylor seemed unlikely to repeat the feat. The defending champion scored first when Taylor couldn’t produce anything under a 30-second shot clock. The lead moved to 2-0 on a penalty to Taylor.

The American answered quickly to tie the bout at 2. But Yazdanicharati managed to push Taylor out of the rings to take a 3-2 lead with 1:30 left.

With the second ticking down, Taylor struck with breathtaking speed, getting a double-leg takedown and two points. Yazdanicharati had no time left to answer.

Also in the 86kg weight class, University of Michigan wrestler Myles Amine claimed San Marino’s third medal of the Games in dramatic fashion, taking down India’s Deepak Punia with roughly 10 seconds left for a 4-2 win. Amine finished third in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 NCAA championships. San Marino, a nation with a population of 33,860, won its first two medals in its Olympic history in shooting earlier in the Games.

Amine battled his way back through the bracket after losing to Taylor.