David Taylor Confirms There’s ‘Zero Chance’ He Competes Again

David Taylor is sure he’s done competing.

Taylor, Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach, talked with the media on Thursday for the first time since winning a bronze medal at the Senior World Championships last week in Albania. The last time Taylor was at the podium before heading to Albania, he announced the tournament would be his last as a competitor so he could focus all of his attention to coaching.

“Oh , yeah, there was zero chance I was competing after that tournament,” Taylor said. “You’re just not chasing anything anymore. The chase is over, from that side of things, obviously.”

Reason for skepticism is warranted after Taylor said at his introductory news conference as OSU’s new coach that he was retired from competing. Then, only a few months later after getting an itch, Taylor was competing again at the United States World Team Trials, where he won gold at 92 kilograms to earn a spot to compete at the World Championships. Obviously proving to be the best in the country and winning a bronze medal against the best in the world also showed Taylor’s still got it at 33 years old.

“I’m really happy to finish the way I did,” Taylor said. “I’ve never really been satisfied for anything — it was the first time in my life that I was ever satisfied with something that wasn’t gold or first place. But I wasn’t going there for a medal. I’ve achieved all those things. It’s just closure. I think that’s what it is — just closure. And I feel really good about that.”

Taylor finished his time as a competitor as a five-time World medalist, including three gold medals. He also won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Taylor said in an interview with FloWrestling after his final match that he wasn’t finished with wrestling, though, just competing. That’s why he didn’t leave his shoes at the center of the mat, which is symbolic when wrestlers finish their last match before retirement. Taylor reminded the media there that he’d lace up those shoes again in just a few days at the Cowboys’ next practice.

“It was nice going into this World Championships knowing it was my last one,” Taylor said. “I started to just really appreciate a lot of things — all the things that I had done in my career, but also just the little things on that trip — warming up, you’re lacing up your shoes, you’re taping your shoes, you know, just the things you kind of take for granted when you’re in it all the time.”

Although Taylor has been in the role of head coach since May, the Cowboys’ first dual will be Nov. 15 against Utah Valley, officially beginning the David Taylor era at OSU.

“When you finish your career, not many people get to finish completely satisfied, and I feel completely satisfied with what I was able to do,” Taylor said. “I’m looking forward to now moving to this new chapter.”