2021 - Olympic Qualifiers - Men's Freestyle

86KG - David Taylor

Contenders:
David Taylor and Hassan Yazdani are the clear 1 and 2 in the world at 86kg. Yazdani currently is sitting as the 1 seed based off his world championship performance in 2019. Taylor, however, does not have any seeding criteria and will be randomly drawn into the bracket in Tokyo. Artur Naifonov (RUS), 2019 World Bronze medalist, is the biggest threat to Taylor and Yazdani and will be seeded opposite Yazdani in the bracket. So regardless of which side Taylor is drawn into, he will have to go through either Yazdani or Naifonov to make the finals.

Recent Results:

Myles Amine took home a bronze medal from the Poland Open. Amine lost to Zahid Valencia, 7-1, but defeated Sebastian Jezierzanski (POL) in the bronze medal match. More notably than the bronze finish, Amine secured the #3 seed for the Olympic Games. Formerly, Amine was sitting at the #4 spot but gained enough points to move ahead of Artur Naifonov (RUS). This now guarantees Yazdani and Naifonov’s placement on the top side of the bracket in Tokyo while Amine and Punia will be on the bottom. Should David Taylor get drawn in on the top, he’ll have to face the toughest competitors at 86kg just to make the finals.