J'den Cox

J'den Michael Tbory Cox (/ˈdʒeɪdən/ JAY-dən, born March 3, 1995) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 92 kilograms.

In freestyle, Cox is a two-time World Champion (bronze medalist in 2021) at 92 kilos, and while competing at 86 kilos, he claimed a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics and a 2017 World Championship bronze medal.

During college, Cox wrestled for the Missouri Tigers, and was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and four-time Mid-American Conference champion, becoming one of the most accomplished Tigers in the program's history.

Cox was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri and began wrestling at the age of four.

The first youth state tournament Cox entered is the last state tournament at any level he did not win.

Cox began training with Mike Eierman (Jaydin Eierman's father) in 2006 and continued training with Eierman until his move to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2018.

Cox attended Hickman High School, where he was an all–state linebacker in addition to a standout high school wrestler.

He was a four–time Missouri state champion, and one of the first wrestlers in Missouri to win titles at four different weight classes.

Cox compiled a 205–3 record in his high school career, suffering all three losses his freshman season.

Cox also had success on the national level.

In 2011 he won a Cadet National Championship in Greco-Roman, and took third place in freestyle.

A rivalry developed between Cox and fellow future multiple-time World Champion Kyle Snyder.

Cox defeated Snyder in the Greco-Roman final while losing to Snyder in pool competition in freestyle.

In 2012, Cox won a Junior National Championship in freestyle and took third in Greco-Roman.

Again Cox and Snyder traded victories between styles, with Cox defeating Snyder in pool competition in freestyle and Snyder defeating Cox in Greco-Roman pool competition.

Cox was ranked the third-overall recruit in the 2013 class by FloWrestling and sixth overall by InterMat.

Cox stayed at home in Columbia and wrestled collegiately for the Missouri Tigers.

Cox bypassed a redshirt year and wrestled right away for the Tigers at 197 lbs.

in the 2013–14 season.

He was a MAC champion and entered the 2014 NCAA Championships as the #2 seed.

Cox defeated Nick Heflin of Ohio State in final to become a national champion.

At the time Cox became just the 14th true freshman national champion in NCAA Division 1 history.

Cox finished the season with a 38–2 record and was recognized as both the 2014 MAC Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

In 2014, the newly crowned freshman NCAA champion at 197 pounds, decided to compete at 97 kilograms (214 pounds) despite being undersized for the weight class, and made his senior level debut by placing third at the US University National Championships, and later in the month competing at the US World Team Trials, but failing to place.

In his sophomore season, Cox again took home All-American honors by virtue of his 5th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships.

Cox entered the tournament undefeated on the season and earned the #1 seed in the 197 lb. bracket.

Cox suffered his first loss of the year in the semifinal to Kyle Snyder and suffered another loss to Morgan McIntosh in consolations before finishing 5th.

He was a MAC champion again and finished the year with a 37–2 record.

In 2015, he placed fourth at the US Senior Nationals, falling to eventual 2015 World Champion Kyle Snyder by one point throughout the bracket.

Cox returned to the top of the podium in 2016.

After becoming a MAC champion for the third time, he entered the NCAA Championships as the #2 seed.

Cox defeated Morgan McIntosh in the final 4–2, avenging his loss from the previous year.

He joined Ben Askren as the only other two-time national champion in school history.

Cox finished the season with a 33–1 record and was recognized as the MAC Wrestler of the Year for the second time.

In 2017, Cox finished off his collegiate career with another national championship.

He was a perfect 28–0 on the season and finished second in Hodge Trophy voting.

Cox was a MAC champion for the fourth time and was honored as the MAC Wrestler of the Year for the third time.

Cox was the first three-time national champion in program history.

Among program records, he finished his career ranked first in winning percentage (.965, 136–5) and tied for second in wins (136).

Cox was an accomplished freestyle wrestler growing up, claiming multiple US National Championships, despite never competing overseas.