NEW YORK — J’Den Cox admits the past several weeks have been tiring, winning matches on some of wrestling’s biggest stages and qualifying for his first Olympic team.
But the Missouri junior says he’s proud and honored to represent USA Wrestling in the Beat the Streets competition against a team from Iran in Times Square on Thursday.
Cox, 21, hasn’t had much of a break since winning his second NCAA title for Missouri on March 19. Twenty-two days later, he won his weight class, 86 kilograms (189 pounds), at the Olympic trials as the No. 9 seed. He beat 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert, the top seed, and Kyle Dake, a four-time NCAA champion for Cornell.
Two weeks later in his first international competition, Cox qualified his weight for the Olympics by claiming the gold medal at a tournament in Mongolia.
“It’s been a fun ride. What I’m mainly trying to do is take everything in and accept it and be glad and proud of it,” Cox said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to remember there’s still work to be done.”
He’ll face Iran’s Meisam Mostafa Joukar in his match Thursday. The U.S. has a strong contingent that includes three-time world champion and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs and two world champions in women’s wrestling, Adeline Gray and Helen Maroulis. The other men’s senior match features Andy Bisek, a two-time bronze world medalist in Greco-Roman.
Cox, who is from Columbia, Mo. and was 33-1 for the Tigers this season, says he prefers to stay out of the spotlight. “I like going home and getting away from everything,” he said during an interview after the Beat the Streets weigh-in. “There’s cameras here all the time, but they’re on Jordan so it’s kind of like a blessing. I kind of like being on my own, being out of the limelight.”
On Thursday he will be the center of attention for his match against Joukar, a 2014 Asian Games champion, as Beat the Streets hosts its fifth competition in Times Square. It’s the second time athletes from Iran will participate.
Iran will also compete against the United States in a Freestyle World Cup in Los Angeles on June 11-12, a key event leading up to the Rio Olympics. Wrestlers from Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, India, Mongolia and Turkey are also expected to attend.
