At age 5, J’den Cox was encouraged by his coaches at the Columbia Wrestling Club to make a list of long-range goals:
Go undefeated.
Win a state championship.
Make the United States Olympic team.
At age 21, Cox, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and senior-to-be at the University of Missouri, has checked off those goals and is on to another: winning a gold medal.
On Saturday, Cox will compete in Rio de Janeiro in freestyle wrestling at 86 kilograms (189.5 pounds). And his aim, as always, is to win.
“I don’t think anyone trains for third.