From NCAA champion to Olympic bronze medalist. J'den Cox jumped levels in such a short period of time, but how did he do it? Go behind the scenes with J'den Cox as he prepares for his Olympic debut in Rio, and makes a splash on the international stage.
J'den Cox Didn't Want To Wrestle At Olympic Trials
Sep 29, 2016
As we all know, J'den Cox won an Olympic Bronze at the Olympic Games this past summer. What you may not know is that the two-time NCAA Champion wasn't even planning on being at the Olympic Trials.
In this bonus clip from J'den Cox: The Only Way Is Up, we hear J'den tell us why he didn't want to go to the Trials and why he finally did.
After winning his second NCAA title, the Missouri junior was ready for a break. "I didn't want to wrestle. I was beat up. I needed to get some things looked at and checked out."
Missouri head coach Brian Smith had other things in mind. He knew what J'den Cox was capable of and the opportunity that stood before him. The Olympic Games only come around once every four years and the stakes are always elevated.
Not only did Smith convince Cox to wrestle, he convinced him to shed an extra eight pounds from his college weight to drop down to 86kg.
In return he told Coach Smith he wanted three things. J'den wanted Mike Eierman to be his coach, Jaydin Clayton to be his partner and to do things his way.
Coach Smith agreed and the rest is history.
J'den has a story that is far more than just wrestling and deeper than anyone ever thought. He has monsters and demons that he deals with daily. Learn about who J'den Cox really is in J'den Cox: The Only Way Is Up.
