Aaron Brooks Crushes Defending Champion David Taylor’s Paris Olympics Hope

It is no less than the fall of a Titan! 2020 Olympic Champion David Taylor was the favorite in the 86kg weight class, with an overwhelming majority. But the unthinkable was made possible by Aaron Brooks. Four-time NCAA champion Brooks met Taylor at the 86kg final in the US Olympic Wrestling trials, where the former won the first round in style with a 4-1 decision win. And now, the evening session saw the 2024 Big Ten champ retain his composure and momentum further, as the Magic Man bowed out of the race to the 2024 Olympics.

The latest Twitter post by the official NBC Olympics & Paralympics account shared news of Brooks’ victory in a sonorous manner with the elaborate caption saying, “Four-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks can now add “Olympian” to his resume!“. The Penn State wrestler defeated the school’s arguably biggest and most decorated alum 3-1 in the second bout and secured his place in the national team.

Taylor received a bye thanks to his 2023 World Championships win in Belgrade. However, his fans, and probably Taylor himself as well, couldn’t conceive that his chances of returning to the big stage would be cut short at his alma mater. And by an NLWC wrestler nonetheless.

The morning session sounded the alarms on April 20 at the Bryce Jordan Center when Aaron Brooks picked up the first win against Taylor. However, the Magic Man’s fans kept hoping for the best, given the Olympic gold medalist’s track record. But in their wildest imagination, no one thought that Taylor would have to cede ground to one of his successors on home soil. With his defeat, months’ worth of hard training comes to an end for the two-time national champion.

An unexpected curtain drop

Over the last few months, Taylor has been sharing extensive BTS snippets with his fans about how he’s been gearing up for the Olympic Trials. Sharing the gym with the likes of Kyle Dake and getting cheered on by his little daughter, Taylor was expected to secure his place in Team USA without having to break much of a sweat. On top of that, the fact that the trials would take place at Penn State made everyone believe that Taylor would be at his best. Furthermore, in his recent social media updates as well, Taylor mentioned that his goal is to be the best and not stop until he is considered the most elite wrestler of all time. With all that in mind, David’s loss to fellow NLWC-bred wrestler Brooks can only be described as poetic.

While his shot at Olympic glory is gone, there’s no reason to think that David Taylor’s career as a wrestler is over. The World Championships will take place after the 2024 Olympics, and Taylor can still make it to the national team for the tournament. As fans wait to see what fate has in store for the celebrity wrestler, few can argue that his status as one of the best wrestlers from the USA isn’t already sealed in gold.