#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.

LIVE BLOG: Pan-American Championships (DAY FOUR)

Sunday, May 10, 2026 - 15:14 By Eric Olanowski

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CORALVILLE, United States (May 10) -- We just kicked off the final day of wrestling, not only at the Pan-American Championships, but of the continental championship season. Today, we'll had out the final seven freestyle golds at 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg and 125kg.

Stars in Action:
- Levi David HAINES (USA) - World silver medalist 
- Real Marshall Ray WOODS (USA) - World bronze medalist 
- Darian Toi CRUZ (PUR) - Paris 2024 Olympian 
- Wyatt Avery HENDRICKSON (USA) - Pan-Am champion

12:15: Once we finish these matches on Mat A, we'll be taking a quick five-minute break then head right into the semfinals.  

11:56: Not much to say about Wyatt Avery HENDRICKSON (USA). He hit a snap down to a cradle and pinned Brandon Eloin ANGUIANO FLORES (MEX) in 31 seconds. He'll wrestle the winner of  Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA) and Aaron Anthony JOHNSON (JAM) in today's semifinals.

11:38: We have not talk much about the reinging world silver medalist, Levi David HAINES (USA), but he's coming up next on Mat A. He's already had a pair of matches that have both ended in 10-0 wins. He'll try to make it three-for-three, as he'll wrestle Patrik LEDER (CAN) next.

11:36: We're back to action on Mat A. The issue has been fixed and Jose Daniel DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) and  Jorawar Singh DHINSA (CAN) are finally wrestling.

11:28: We're having technical issues on Mat A. We apologize for the delay but we'll be back to wrestling once the IT issues get solved.

11:16: Impotant note for tonight's final session. We'll start at 16:00, an hour earlier than normally scheduled. The start time has been updated from 17:00 to 16:00,

11:10: We're doing a mini doc on Hidlay so we just ran back to do a quick interivew and also ran the Question of the Day: "Which Olympic champion has the best shot to win 97kg world gold in Bahrain? Sadulaev, Snyder, Tazhudinov or Yazdani?" That'll be up on our IG tomorrow, so stay tuned.  

10:41: Hidlay who won 10-0  about 15 minutes ago is already coming up again shortly. He'll be up in three matches on Mat A against AMBROCIO GREIFO Pool Edinson (PER).

10:26: It'll be very USA heavy today. They have a lot of firepower taking the mat and are favored in nearly every weight today. But on a non-USA note: reigning Pan-Am runner-up from Puerto Rico Shane Christopher JONES (PUR) scored four takedowns in his opening round match against Andrew Terry Musey JOHNSON (CAN), picking up the 8-2 win. 

10:20: Reigning world champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) is the biggest star in action today. He's making his way to Mat A as we speak for his opening round match. I actually just spoke to his coach Jamil KELLY (USA) and this is the match that they circled coming into the competition as the toughest that Trent will face here in Iowa.