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If you are wondering how to listen to the Olympics, iHeartRadio has you covered. iHeartRadio is the exclusive audio home of NBC's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, so it is the only place to listen to the Olympics stream. The free iHeart app is where to go to listen to exclusive play-by-play action of Team USA. To celebrate, we are spotlighting some of the country's athletes that are vying for gold.
American wrestler David Taylor, known as the "Magic Man", has had an illustrious career, from his early days as a high school champion to his recent Olympic gold medal victory. Born in Reno, Nevada, Taylor attended Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio, where he became a four-time state champion with an impressive record of 180–2. In 2009, he received the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award as the country's top high-school wrestler.
Taylor attended Penn State University, where he worked under Athens 2004 Olympic champion Cael Sanderson and won two NCAA Division I national championships. After graduating in 2015, Taylor pursued wrestling full-time, winning gold at the US Open that year. However, he faced stiff competition from his old college rival Kyle Dake, who beat him at the US Nationals and the Olympic Trials in April 2016.
Despite these setbacks, Taylor continued to excel in the 86kg category, winning a third US Open and a first Pan American title in 2018. His crowning achievement came at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where he defeated Iranian competitor Hassan Yazdani to win the gold medal in the Men's Freestyle 86 kg competition.
Taylor's rivalry with Yazdani has been a defining feature of his career, with the two athletes frequently meeting in the finals of the World Championships. Despite losing to Yazdani at the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Taylor reasserted his dominance at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, winning 7-1 to claim his second world title.
Off the mat, Taylor is a dedicated family man. He and his wife, Kendra, have three daughters: London, Ivy, and Birdie, who was born in January 2024. Despite his recent retirement from competitive wrestling, Taylor's legacy in the sport remains strong, with his achievements inspiring the next generation of American wrestlers.
From exclusive NBC play-by-play action of Team USA to live hourly updates from the Games to original Summer Games podcasts, you can listen to the Olympics stream only on iHeartRadio. Find out more about how to listen.