Olympic champ David Taylor receives surprise homecoming celebration from M2 wrestlers
David Taylor returned to State College this week from Tokyo with a new title to add to his ever-growing legendary wrestling resume — Olympic champion.
The local wrestling community came out in full force to Taylor’s gym, the M2 Training Center in Pleasant Gap, on Thursday to welcome him home with a surprise celebration for the newly crowned champion of the world.
Taylor, who has lived in Centre County since graduating from Penn State in 2014, is very appreciative of the support he receives from the local community.
“A lot of people have put in a lot of time to help me; I think that everyone has a little piece of that medal,” Taylor said. “I’m just so proud to represent this country and I’m grateful for everyone that’s helped me.”
The support that Taylor receives from the locals goes both ways. His gym is where many young aspiring Olympic wrestlers learn from and train with the current Olympic champion, or just “Coach David,” as they call him.
“It’s really reassuring because the things he’s teaching us he’s also doing at the highest level and he’s using it to succeed,” said M2 wrestler Levi Haines, a 2022 Penn State wrestling commit.. “Learning from him is really cool, because then we know it’s working on the best guys, so it’s going to work on the guys we’re wrestling.”
Taylor’s wrestling skills have rubbed off on the kids training at his gym, as multiple M2 wrestlers — including Haines — have made world teams and competed at the highest levels in their age groups. Along with those skills, Taylor’s drive to succeed is palpable in these young wrestlers, as well.
“I sent him a text after a couple of days after he won and I told him, I’m just ready for it to be my time to go for [gold],” said another M2 wrestler, Kolby Franklin. “When he won, it was an awesome moment and I feel like gave a lot of kids hope and helped them realize that their dreams are reachable.”
Now that the Tokyo competitions have concluded and the dust has settled, Taylor is getting ready to start training immediately for the World Championships in October.
Before the training restarts, arguably the most important decision on Taylor’s hands right now is figuring out what to do with his newly earned gold jewelry. But his wife Kendra said that was never an issue.
Despite not having much of Taylor’s large hardware collection displayed, she said there’s been a special spot saved in the house since they bought it for when he won his Olympic gold.
Despite having reached his lifelong goal of reaching the peak in Olympic competition, Taylor already has his eyes set on the next challenge — winning another gold in Paris in 2024.
“All of our preparations are going to lead toward Paris and being able to follow this up with another gold medal,” Taylor said. “I feel pretty good about it; just got to continue to work hard, put the time in and continue to have that fire to want to be the best.”