Burroughs and Chamizo set to face off for Yasar Dogu gold, Gilman and Taylor also advance to finals

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Three members of the 2018 Men’s Freestyle World Team advanced to the finals of the Yasar Dogu International on Friday evening in Istanbul, Turkey. Those wrestling in tomorrow’s finals are Thomas Gilman at 57 kg, Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg and David Taylor at 86 kg.

To start off the second session, Gilman defeated two-time defending Yasar Dogu champ and 2017 U23 World bronze medalist Suleyman Atli of Turkey with a 7-5 decision.

To secure his spot in the finals, the Hawkeye fell behind Tara Markovych of Ukraine, 5-2, at the break. Gilman battled back to take an eventual 6-6 win.

Tomorrow, the 2017 World silver medalist will face Dzimchyk Rynchynau of Belarus in the 57 kg finals.

At 74 kg, fans will have a treat as five-time World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs will take on 2017 World champion at 70 kg Frank Chamizo of Italy in the gold-medal match.

The two met up at the Beat the Streets Benefit in New York City in May in a Super Match with Burroughs taking the win, 6-5.

To get to the finals, Burroughs won three matches in the second session, beginning with a 10-0 tech fall against Saeed Zervanatareq of Iraq. One match later, Burroughs landed a spot in the semifinals with a win by cautions against Nurykan Azamat of Belarus.

In the semifinals, Burroughs put up a solid 9-5 victory against Kazakhstan’s Bolat Sakayev.

At 86 kg, David Taylor put on a show, pinning all three of his opponents in the first day of competition.

Coming off a session-one pin, Taylor met up with 2017 World silver medalist Boris Makoev of Slovakia. Taylor ended the bout in 3:50 to move on to the semis.

There, he stuck Mediterranean Games champion Ahmet Bilici of Turkey in 4:05.

For gold, Taylor will take on 2017 Senior European silver medalist and 2018 U23 European bronze medalist Murad Suleymanov of Azerbaijan.

Three-time World and Olympic champion Kyle Snyder will wrestle for bronze tomorrow after falling short in the semifinals, losing to Aslanbek Alborov of Azerbaijan on criteria, 3-3.

It was the second Olympic champion of the day that Alborov had beaten as he took out fellow countryman and 2012 Olympic champion Sharif Sharifov in the first round, 1-0.

In the bronze match, Snyder will take on the winner of tomorrow’s repechage match between Sharifov and 2017 European champion Riza Yildirim from Turkey.

After suffering a loss in the first round to Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan, Logan Stieber’s tournament ended on Friday night as Niyazbekov did not advance to the finals.

Saturday’s action will begin at 4 a.m. ET with repechage as well as preliminary matches for the other five men’s freestyle weights (61 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 92 kg and 125 kg). The medal matches are set to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET live on Trackwrestling.

YASAR DOGU INTERNATIONAL
At Istanbul, Turkey, July 27

U.S. Men’s Freestyle results
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
WIN Berdakh Primbayev (Kazakhstan), 11-3
WIN Suleyman Atli (Turkey), 7-5
WIN Taras Markovych (Ukraine), 6-6
vs. Dzimchyk Rynchynau (Belarus)
65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
LOSS Daulet Niyazbekov (Kazakhstan), 6-4
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC)
WIN Saeed Zervanatareq (Iraq), 10-0
WIN Nurykan Azamat (Belarus), win by cautions
WIN Bolat Sakayev (Kazakhstan), 9-5
vs. Frank Chamizo (Italy)
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
WIN Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan), pin 4:37
WIN Boris Makoev (Slovakia), pin 3:50
WIN Ahmet Bilici (Turkey), pin 4:05
vs. Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
WIN Alireza Goodarzi (Iran), 10-0
LOSS Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan), 3-3