Kendall Cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Kendall Cross
Personal information
Full nameKendall Duane Cross
BornFebruary 24, 1968 (1968-02-24) (age 58)
Hardin, Montana, U.S.
Home townMustang, Oklahoma, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)
Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamOklahoma State
ClubSunkist Kids Wrestling Club
TeamUSA
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta 57 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1997 Stillwater 57 kg
Pan American Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Albany 57 kg
Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin
Gold medal – first place 1992 Krasnoyarsk 57 kg
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Schifferstadt 56 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys
NCAA Division I Championships
Gold medal – first place 1989 Oklahoma City 126 lb
Bronze medal – third place 1990 College Park 126 lb
Big 8 Championships
Gold medal – first place 1989 Ames 126 lb
Gold medal – first place 1990 Lincoln 126 lb
Silver medal – second place 1988 Norman 126 lb

Kendall Duane Cross (born February 24, 1968) is an American freestyle wrestler, wrestling coach and Olympic gold medalist. He won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he wrestled in the 57 kilogram (125.5 pounds) weight class. He defeated Guivi Sissaouri of Canada 5–3 in the final match.[1] Cross also competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics where he placed sixth. He had defeated the eventual winner and the two-time world champion Alejandro Puerto of Cuba in a previous tournament but lost 10–6 in round six of the elimination rounds.[2]

His bracket at the 1996 Olympics is considered one of the deepest of all time, with 8 former or future World and Olympic champions competing in the event.

Early career

[edit | edit source]

In high school, Cross wrestled for Mustang High School in Mustang, Oklahoma where he won a state title. He wrestled collegiately for Oklahoma State University where he was a three time All-American and won the NCAA Championship in 1989.[3] Kendall graduated from OSU with a major in political science and economics.[4]

Highlight achievements

[edit | edit source]
  • Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, inducted 2002[5]
  • Three time US National Champion
  • Outstanding Freestyle Wrestler at the U. S. Nationals, 1992 and 1995
  • 1997 USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year[6]
  • 1992 Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament Champion (he defeated the strong world wrestler Bagavdin Umakhanov)[7][8]
  • Espoir National and Espoir World Cup Champion, 1988
  • Bronze medal at Junior World Championships, 1986
  • World Cup Champion, 1997
  • Olympic Champion, 1996

Coaching

[edit | edit source]

After college he served as an assistant coach at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC while training for the Olympics. He also served as a coach for the Sunkist Kids and the Dave Schultz Wrestling Clubs. Kendall went on to become an assistant coach at Harvard University and worked at Merrill Lynch in Boston. While in Boston, he founded the Kendall Cross Gold Medal Wrestling Club, which developed young athletes. Then after moving to Dallas, helped coach at Dallas Dynamite, with other Olympians Brandon Slay and Jamill Kelly. In addition to helping coach at Dallas Dynamite, he also coaches at Trinity Christian Academy.

Family

[edit | edit source]

Kendall has two children, Kennedy and London Cross, and currently resides in New York City.

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Museum of Ivan Yarygin. Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin.
[edit | edit source]

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Flag of OklahomaSport icon

This article related to sports in Oklahoma is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon 1 Stub icon 2

This article about an Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This biographical article relating to weightlifting in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Kendall_Cross&oldid=2596918"