WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Monday made his mark
By Gary Abbott In the history of American wrestling, few athletes have combined amazing tal- ent, explosive technical skills and mental toughness at the highest level like Olympic and World champion Kenny Monday. When Monday was competing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he struck fear in the hearts of his opponents. A native of Tulsa, Okla., Monday start- ed wrestling at the age of six, following his older brothers Michael and Jim to a YMCA after-school program across the street from his elementary school in Tulsa. He soon found both success and satisfaction in the sport.
An undefeated high school wrestler and Junior National champion, Monday was one of the nation’s top recruits. His success at that level is not what he remembers most from his prep years. Monday already appreciated what the sport meant to him and his teammates. “Our high school coach Ernie Jones had a good program. We had a good thing going. I saw non-wrestlers get involved in high school and it changed their lives. It gave them something to be proud of and a part of,” said Monday. As a youth, he became aware of the legacy of Oklahoma wrestling, and its proud college wrestling teams, and he wanted to be a part of that at Oklahoma State.
“Part of my passion for wrestling derived from watching OSU and OU wrestling in the late 60’s and in the 70’s. Myron Roderick had some great teams at OSU. My parents would take us to matches and sell the dream for us. I saw the greats in our sport when I was young. It changed my life. It gave me a vision of where I could go and what I could achieve,” said Monday. At Oklahoma State, Monday was a
NCAA champion and two-time runner-up. He had a long rivalry with Iowa State’s Nate Carr, who defeated Kenny in the NCAA finals twice. Monday scored some wins over Carr in college, including their first dual meet and in the conference finals. Ultimately, they ended up in differ- ent weights in freestyle, and were team- mates on the 1988 Olympic team. “With Nate, it was always a battle. He was the fastest guy I wrestled. When I
12 USA Wrestler
Oklahoma native Kenny Monday was an Olympic and World champion.
“Part of my passion for wrestling derived from watch- ing OSU and OU wrestling ... I saw the greats in our sport when I was young. It changed my life. It gave me a vision of where I could go and what I could achieve.” - Kenny Monday, Olympic and World champion
look back, guys like Nate, and then Dave Schultz and a few Russians, they got me up in the morning. They were a big part of my success. They got me into serious training,” said Monday. In the 1988 Olympic Trials, Monday defeated World and Olympic champion Dave Schultz to make the U.S. team. “At that point, I was figuring it out. I was surprised that I was going to have to do more to get past Dave. I was already working my butt off. What I did was get better with my training and diet, and improved my daily regimen and focus,” said Monday.
At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Monday won the gold medal at 74 kg, alongside OSU team- mate John Smith, who won at 63 kg. Monday beat World champion Adlan Varaev of the USSR in the finals with an overtime takedown.
“I remember John Smith’s dad and my dad were there. They would be waiting for us at the arena each day and would encourage us. It was special. Winning alongside John was very exciting,” said Monday.
In 1989, Soviet superstar Arsen Fadzaev moved up a weight to challenge Monday at the World Championships. Monday beat him in the gold-medal finals in one of the biggest showdowns in mod- ern history. That gave Monday his first World title.
“I felt good and confident about my skills, training and coaching. When Fadzaev came up, I felt it was my weight class. He was a little overconfident. I studied Russians enough and understood how to beat them,” said Monday. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Monday had one of the most
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