World champs Taylor & Elor nominated for UWW Wrestler of the Year in their discipline; Fans can vote on Instagram
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
A pair of 2023 Senior World champions from the United States have become nominees for the United World Wrestling (UWW) Wrestler of the Year in their specific discipline.
World champion David Taylor is one of five nominees for the Men’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, while World champion Amit Elor is one of five nominees for Women’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year.
The selection of the Wrestler of the Year in each Olympic discipline will include a fan vote through UWW’s Instagram. Other factors will include ranking series points, and results from World Championships, Continental Championships, Continental Games and Ranking Series events.
Taylor won the 86 kg World title in Belgrade, Serbia, defeating his long-time rival in the finals, Olympic and World champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran. Taylor is now a three-time World champion and was the 2020 Olympic champion at his weight class. He also boasts a World silver medal during his career.
The other four finalists, also 2023 World champions, for the Men’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year are Ismail Muszukajev of Hungary (65 kg), Individual Neutral Athlete Zaurbek Sidakov (74 kg), Akhmed Tadzhudinov of Bahrain (97 kg) and Amir Hossein Zare of Iran (125 kg).
Fans can vote for David Taylor by replying and typing in his name in the UWW Instagram post below.
Elor won the 72 kg World title in Belgrade, her second consecutive Senior World title at this weight class. Also in 2023, Elor also won gold medals at the U23 World Championships and the U20 World Championships. She becomes the first wrestler from any nation to win three UWW World titles in two straight years. In her career, Elor has won eight UWW World titles in women’s freestyle.
The other four women’s freestyle finalists, all 2023 World champions, were Yui Susaki of Japan (50 kg), Akari Fujinami of Japan (53 kg), Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan (62 kg) and Bose Tosun of Turkey (68 kg).
Fans can vote for Amit Elor by replying and typing in her name in the UWW Instagram post below.
Feel free to share this information with your friends, colleagues and contacts, in order to help support the U.S. athletes with more votes. Voting is open just one week, so don’t wait to vote for David Taylor and Amit Elor with your comment on UWW Instagram