TOKYO, Japan — UPDATE: 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.
ORIGINAL STORY: An Olympian with metro Atlanta ties is set to go for wrestling gold this morning in Tokyo.
David Taylor will face off in the 86kg weight class final against Iran's Hassan Yazdani.
Taylor spent part of his childhood in Roswell, and trained in Alpharetta with the U.S. wrestling team ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Taylor's gold medal match will come at the conclusion of a session of matches that began at 6:30 a.m. ET. It is expected to take place sometime between 7 a.m.-8 a.m. ET, likely closer to 8 a.m.
You can check in on that wrestling session and watch for Taylor's match here.
Taylor's 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.
Yazdani won his matches 11-2 (round of 16), 12-1 (quarterfinals) and 7-1 (semifinals) to reach the gold medal match.
Yazdani, 26, presents a formidable challenge for Taylor - the Iranian was the 2016 gold medal winner in the 74kg weight class in Rio, and the 2017 and 2019 world championships gold medalist in the 86kg weight class.
Taylor, however, was the 2018 world champion - and in that run he defeated Yazdani 11-6 in the round of 32.