USA Wrestling has been notified that the US has acquired three quota locations for the Seaside Wrestling competitors on the 4th Summer season Youth Olympic Video games (YOG) which might be held in Dakar, Senegal, November 7-8, 2026.
The Youth Olympic Video games is a serious multi-sport youth competitors organized by the Worldwide Olympic Committee. Wrestling is one in all 25 sports activities on the official program at Youth Olympic Video games Dakar. That is solely the fourth Youth Olympic Video games for Summer season Olympic sports activities, and competing on this occasion is a serious honor for a younger athlete.
Seaside Wrestling would be the solely wrestling self-discipline being contested on the 2026 Youth Olympic Video games. There are eight weight courses being contested in Seaside Wrestling on the Youth Olympic Video games, 4 in ladies’s wrestling and 4 in males’s wrestling. Athletes competing in wrestling on the Youth Olympic Video games are within the U17 age group.
America has been awarded 2026 YOG allocations within the 45 kg ladies, 65 kg ladies and 75 kg ladies weight courses.
United World Wrestling didn’t host a qualifying course of for Seaside Wrestling on the 2026 Youth Olympic Video games. When informing USA Wrestling of its quota alternatives, UWW indicated that the US’ help for Seaside Wrestling, in addition to participation within the 2025 U17 World Seaside Championships and the 2026 U17 Pan American Seaside Championships, had been considered through the choice course of.
USA Wrestling has notified the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee that it could settle for these three berths on the Youth Olympic Video games. Primarily based upon the accredited 2026 Beach Youth Olympic Games procedures, USA Wrestling is now working to finalize the U.S. staff for Dakar.
Based on the accredited procedures, the primary standards for choice to the U.S. Youth Olympic Video games staff is “2026 U17 Seaside Pan Am Championships – Champion.” Within the three weight courses for which the USA has Youth Olympic Video games quota locations, the one 2026 U17 Seaside Pan American champion was Matilda Hruby of Brighton, Colo., at 75 kg. Hruby has been supplied this place on the U.S. YOG staff.
Within the accredited procedures, the second standards for choice is “2026 Carolina Seaside Nationals & World Workforce Trials – Champion.” Subsequently, the U17 champions at 45 kg and 65 kg within the Carolina Seaside Nationals in Carolina Seaside, N.C., this Saturday, Might 9, might be supplied a place on the U.S. YOG staff.
There may be nonetheless time for athletes to register to compete on the Carolina Seaside Nationals. U17 ladies athletes on the 45 kg and 65 kg weight courses are inspired to enter the Carolina Seaside Nationals for an opportunity to check out for the U.S. Youth Olympic Video games staff.
Register for the 2026 Carolina Beach Nationals competition
The Carolina Seaside Nationals will even be the qualifying occasion for U.S. age-group World Groups on the U17 and U20 age ranges, in addition to one of many qualifying occasions for U.S. groups competing within the Senior Seaside World Sequence. As well as, the Carolina Seaside Nationals contains national-level competitors in Seaside Wrestling in divisions from 8U by way of Masters.
Carolina Beach Nationals website
The earlier Summer season Youth Olympic Video games had been held in Singapore in 2010, Nanjing, China in 2014 and Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018. In these occasions, the wrestling types contested had been ladies’s freestyle, males’s freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Within the earlier three Summer season Youth Olympic Video games, there have been 11 athletes from the US who’ve competed, with six Workforce USA athletes claiming medals. Previous Youth Olympic Video games champions from the US had been Emily Shilson (ladies’s freestyle 43 kg) and Robert Howard (males’s freestyle 55 kg), each on the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Two previous Youth Olympic Video games wrestlers from the US went on later of their careers to win a Senior World medal, 2021 World silver medalist Daton Repair in males’s freestyle and 2021 World bronze medalist Jenna Burkert in ladies’s freestyle.
Previous U.S. Youth Olympic Video games medalists
2018 ladies’s freestyle 43 kg gold medal – Emily Shilson
2018 males’s freestyle 55 kg gold medal – Robert Howard
2014 males’s freestyle 46 kg silver medal – Cade Olivas
2014 males’s freestyle 54 kg silver medal – Daton Repair
2014 Greco-Roman 69 kg silver medal – Mason Manville
2010 males’s freestyle 76 kg bronze medal – Jordan Rogers
Previous U.S. Youth Olympic Video games staff rosters
43 kg ladies’s freestyle – Emily Shilson, Maple Grove, Minn
49 kg ladies’s freestyle – Tiare Ikei, Honolulu, Hawaii
55 kg males’s freestyle – Robert Howard, Cranford, N.J.
65 kg males’s freestyle – Carson Manville, Kingston, Pa.
46 kg males’s freestyle – Cade Olivas, Fontana, Calif.
54 kg males’s freestyle – Daton Repair, Sand Springs, Okla.
69 kg Greco-Roman – Mason Manville, Blairstown, N.J
63 kg males’s freestyle – Quinton Murphy, Holley, N.Y.
76 kg males’s freestyle – Jordan Rogers, Spokane, Wash.
85 kg Greco-Roman – Lucas Sheridan, Harmony, Calif.
60 kg ladies’s freestyle – Jenna Burkert, Center Island, N.Y.