The U17 World Championships Are Here, And Yeah, They’re Kind Of A Big Deal
What better way to follow up Junior Nationals, which features the rising stars in the sport of wrestling competing in nationwide championships, than with the U17 World Championships, which features rising stars from every country across the globe competing in a—you guessed it—world championship!
Held sporadically before taking a hiatus from 1999 to 2010, the U17 Worlds, also previously known as Cadet Worlds, has been a staple of the international season ever since (with the lamentable exception of 2020 due to COVID).
U17 Medals Suggest Senior-Level Success
As you’d expect, winning a medal at U17 Worlds is a good indicator of future senior-level success. Looking back at some of the previous 17-and-under medalists from the USA yields some of the most notable Americans in the sport: Spencer Lee, Zain Retherford, Yianni Diakomihalis, Aaron Brooks, David Carr and Aaron Pico, among others.
One could then look at more recent results as a sort of crystal ball with which to make predictions about future success. Below are all the U17 World medalists in men’s freestyle since 2021.
Team USA Has Produced U17 Medals In All Three Styles
The red, white and blue hasn’t just been reeling in gold, silver and bronze in men’s freestyle. The Americans have also been stacking medals in Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling at the U17 World Championships.
Since 2021, the USA has earned nine Greco medals, including three golds. Those medalists include rising stars Cody Merrill, Jordyn Raney, Jayden Raney and Joel Adams.
Team USA’s girls have brought home 25 total medals since 2021, including eight golds. Among those medalists are senior-level world teamers and medalists like Amit Elor, Audrey Jimenez and Morgan Turner, as well as future stars Katie Gomez, Jaclyn Bouzakis and Taina Fernandez.
Overall, the total medal count for all countries in all styles since 2021 looks as follows.
It should also be noted that Russian and Belarusian U17 athletes were allowed to compete but were ineligible to represent their respective national federations. Combined, wrestlers from those two countries have earned 55 U17 medals since 2021.
Where Can I Watch These Future Wrestling Stars Of The World?
Just like with Fargo, you can catch the U17 World Championships right here on FloWrestling!
The Greco-Roman portion of the event will be wrapping up by the time you read this, but you can catch all the girls’ and boys’ freestyle matches, which will follow the schedule below.
Women’s Freestyle Schedule (Eastern)
Wednesday, July 29
2:30 AM: Qualification rounds (WFS 43 kg, 49 kg, 57 kg, 65 kg, 73 kg)
9:00 AM: Semifinals (WFS 43 kg, 49 kg, 57 kg, 65 kg, 73 kg)
Thursday, July 30
2:30 AM: Repechage (WFS 43 kg, 49 kg, 57 kg, 65 kg, 73 kg)
2:30 AM: Qualification rounds (WFS 40 kg, 46 kg, 53 kg, 61 kg, 69 kg)
9:00 AM: Semifinals (WFS 40 kg, 46 kg, 53 kg, 61 kg, 69 kg)
10:00 AM: Finals (WFS 43 kg, 49 kg, 57 kg, 65 kg, 73 kg)
Friday, July 31
2:30 AM: Repechage (WFS 40 kg, 46 kg, 53 kg, 61 kg, 69 kg)
10:00 AM: Finals (WFS 40 kg, 46 kg, 53 kg, 61 kg, 69 kg)
Men’s Freestyle Schedule (Eastern)
Friday, July 31
2:30 AM: Qualification rounds (MFS 48 kg, 55 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg, 110 kg)
9:00 AM: Semifinals (MFS 48 kg, 55 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg, 110 kg)
Saturday, August 1
2:30 AM: Repechage (MFS 48 kg, 55 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg, 110 kg)
2:30 AM: Qualification rounds (MFS 45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg, 92 kg)
9:00 AM: Semifinals (MFS 45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg, 92 kg)
10:00 AM: Finals (MFS 48 kg, 55 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg, 110 kg)
Sunday, August 2
8:30 AM: Repechage (MFS 45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg, 92 kg)
10:00 AM: Finals (MFS 45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg, 92 kg)
Rewatch of the Week
What better way to get pumped up for the U17 World Championships than with a supercut of every USA U17 men’s freestyle world champ since 2018!