David Taylor, Olympic wrestling gold medalist, becomes Oklahoma State head coach

Tokyo Olympic wrestling gold medalist David Taylor is starting a head coaching career, accepting the job at Oklahoma State.

Taylor, who has trained at Penn State for nearly 15 years, succeeds 1988 and 1992 Olympic gold medalist John Smith, who retired, as head coach at Oklahoma State.

Taylor, 33, has not announced whether he hopes to continue competing since losing to Aaron Brooks at the Olympic Trials on April 20.

Before losing to Brooks, Taylor was arguably the world’s best pound-for-pound male wrestler, following his Tokyo Olympic gold with world titles in 2022 and 2023.

Taylor’s coach at Penn State, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson, placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships during his head coaching tenure.