TOKYO, Japan — David Taylor pulled off a victory in stunning fashion over Iranian Hassan Yazdani in the 86kg weight class gold medal match in Tokyo on Thursday.
Trailing 3-2 on points as the final seconds ticked down, Taylor earned two points for a takedown to leap ahead with just about 15 seconds remaining to beat one of the most difficult opponents in the sport and earn gold.
Taylor justified his nickname, the "Magic Man," for how he pulls off magic late in matches, with this victory.
The NBC announcers gasped as he pulled off the takedown, marveling at how he'd "stolen it."
"They were head to head, neither one of them is used to being under that amount of pressure, and also right to the very last second with the possibility of somebody still beating you," the announcer noted.
The final tally was 4-3 in Taylor's favor after the takedown.
The two - who account for three straight world championship titles between them (Yazdani in 2017 and 2019, Taylor in 2018) - had only met once before in a competition of this magnitude, with Taylor defeating the Iranian at the 2018 world championships.
Yazdani was distraught after the silver medal result, following on his 2016 gold in Rio in the 74kg weight class.
Taylor spent part of his childhood in Roswell, and trained with the rest of the U.S. wrestling team in Alpharetta ahead of the Tokyo Games. His run to the gold medal match was dominant.
He first beat Ali Shabanau of Belarus in the last 16 round, 11-0 in what's known as a victory by technical superiority - which is when a freestyle match is stopped when one wrestler gains a 10-point lead and achieves a technical fall.
A technical fall is considered the points equivalent to a fall - when one wrestler pins the other and wins a match. In Olympic wrestling, points are achieved via the execution of moves such as holds and takedowns.
Taylor recorded another victory by technical superiority, 12-2 in the quarterfinals against Myles Amine of San Marino.
The 30-year-old, who spent part of his childhood in Roswell and trained with the U.S. wrestling team in Alpharetta ahead of the Tokyo Games, then pulled off a victory by technical superiority again in the semifinal match.
To reach the gold medal match, Taylor dusted off India's Deepak Punia 10-0.