Kendall Cross

{{Short description|American wrestler (born 1968)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Kendall Cross | image = | caption = | fullname = Kendall Duane Cross | birth_date = {{birth-date and age|February 24, 1968}} | birth_place = Hardin, Montana, U.S. | hometown = Mustang, Oklahoma, U.S. | country = United States | team = USA | sport = Wrestling | event = Freestyle and Folkstyle | club = Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club | collegeteam = Oklahoma State | headercolor = lightsteelblue | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport | Men's freestyle wrestling}} {{Medal|Country|the {{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }} center|80px {{Medal|Gold | 1996 Atlanta | 57 kg}} {{MedalCompetition|World Cup}} {{MedalGold| 1997 Stillwater |57 kg}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Championships}} {{MedalBronze|1992 Albany|57 kg}} {{MedalCompetition|Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin}} {{Medal|Gold|1992 Krasnoyarsk| 57 kg }} {{MedalCompetition|Junior World Championships}} {{MedalBronze|1986 Schifferstadt|56 kg}} {{MedalSport | Collegiate Wrestling}} {{MedalCountry|the Oklahoma State Cowboys}} {{MedalCompetition|NCAA Division I Championships}} {{MedalGold|1989 Oklahoma City|126 lb}} {{MedalBronze|1990 College Park|126 lb}} {{MedalCompetition|Big 8 Championships}} {{MedalGold|1989 Ames|126 lb}} {{MedalGold|1990 Lincoln|126 lb}} {{MedalSilver|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/olympics/daily/wrestlng/july/31/angle.htm|title=Americans Angle, Cross Capture Wrestling Golds |access-date=2008-07-05 | work=The Washington Post | date=2000-08-13}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/130944 |title=Bantamweight, Freestyle (≤57 kilograms), Men |work=Sports Reference |access-date=21 March 2024}}</ref>

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== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackmagic.com/ses/wrest/cross/ |title=Kendall Cross Home Page |access-date=2008-07-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524154838/http://blackmagic.com/ses/wrest/cross/ |archive-date=2010-05-24 }}</ref> Kendall graduated from OSU with a major in political science and economics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CR018.html|title=Kendall Cross|access-date=2008-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003020528/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CR018.html|archive-date=2009-10-03|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Highlight achievements==

*Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, inducted 2002<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/awards/?dm&honoree=793 |title=National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum |access-date=2006-09-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030728172903/http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/awards/?dm&honoree=793 |archive-date=July 28, 2003 }}</ref> *Three time US National Champion *Outstanding Freestyle Wrestler at the U. S. Nationals, 1992 and 1995 *1997 USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mawaonline.org/mawa/getArticleDetails.asp?lngArticleIdQuery=348&txtgArticleTypeQuery=A|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051103094351/http://mawaonline.org/mawa/getArticleDetails.asp?lngArticleIdQuery=348&txtgArticleTypeQuery=A|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 3, 2005|title=Kendall Cross's Bio: Olympic Champion}}</ref> *1992 Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament Champion (he defeated the strong world wrestler Bagavdin Umakhanov)<ref name="PS1">{{cite book|title=All about freestyle wrestling|year=1997|publisher=Project-Press|location=Vladikavkaz|language=Russian|pages=190}}</ref><ref>[https://yarigin-museum.ru/heritage/organizations/gran-pri-ivan-yarygin Museum of Ivan Yarygin. Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin.]</ref> *Espoir National and Espoir World Cup Champion, 1988 *Bronze medal at Junior World Championships, 1986 *World Cup Champion, 1997 *Olympic Champion, 1996

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

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091003020528/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CR018.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cross, Kendall] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901032017/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/cr/kendall-cross-1.html Kendall Cross Biography and Statistics - Olympics at Sports-Reference.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Kendall}} Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Harvard Crimson coaches Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Category:Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:American male sport wrestlers Category:People from Hardin, Montana Category:People from Mustang, Oklahoma Category:Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers Category:Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:20th-century American sportsmen