The 2022 U17 World Championships will go down in Rome, Italy July 25-31. Team USA has sent a team to U17 Worlds (formerly Cadet Words) every year since 2011 and in this article, we’ll take a look back at U17 Worlds since then to see USA’s best performances in men's freestyle. We’ll also explore how the best countries fared at U17 Worlds during this time highlighting 2021 world/Olympic medalists’ performance at the age-level world championships.

Team USA's Medals At U17 Worlds

Since 2011, team USA has won 40 medals in the ten U17 World Championships in men's freestyle. In total, they’ve won 20 golds, 7 silvers, and 13 bronze medals. Take a look at the graph below to see how those medals were divided up by year:

Team USA performed the best in 2016 with seven total medals - 3 golds, 1 silver, and 3 bronze. That 2016 finished second in the U17 World Team title race. They also had 4 wrestlers go on to win NCAA titles, 7 total All-Americans, and 1 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist. Take a look at the best U17 World Team for USA since 2011:

2016 U17 World Team:

• 42kg: Kurt McHenry - Gold
• 46kg: Malik Heinselman - Did not medal
• 50kg: Aaron Cashman - Did not Medal
• 54kg: Roman Bravo-Young - Did not medal
• 58kg: Vito Arujau - Silver
• 63kg: Yianni Diakomihalis- Gold
• 69kg: David Carr - Bronze
• 76kg: Travis Wittlake - Bronze
• 85kg: Jacob Warner - Bronze
• 100kg: Gable Steveson - Gold

Gable Steveson's 2016 U17 World finals match:

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In addition to the legendary 2016 U17 World team, 11 different NCAA champs have participated in U17 worlds since 2011 and 20 other wrestlers have earned Division 1 All-American honors at NCAAs (just out of the freestyle members). This article dives deep into those numbers.

11 Different D1 NCAA Champions And Their Performance at U17 Worlds:

• Zain Retherford - Gold in 2012
• Spencer Lee - Gold in 2014
• Mark Hall - Gold in 2014
• Yianni Diakomihalis - Gold in 2015 & 2016
• Gable Steveson - Gold in 2015 & 2016
• David Carr - Bronze in 2016
• Aaron Brooks - Gold in 2017
• AJ Ferrari - Bronze in 2018
• Seth Gross - Did not medal in 2012
• Bo Nickal - Did not medal in 2013
• Roman Bravo-Young - did not medal in 2016

Yianni's win in the 2015 U17 World Finals:

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International Stars Cut Their Teeth At U17 Worlds

Not only does U17 Worlds give a preview of future NCAA stars, but it also allows us to get to know young international stars for the first time. For instance, a year before Abdulrashid Sadulaev won SENIOR WORLDS in 2014 he was showing out at U17 Worlds - in 2012 and 2013 Abdulrashid Sadulaev dominated his way to 2 U17 World titles.  There’s no guarantee the next Sadulaev will compete in this year's U17 Worlds, but this year's field will certainly include future senior wrestlers who will challenge for world titles and medals.

Take a look below at last year’s Olympic and World medalists along with how they performed at the U17 Worlds:

Golds Medalist at 2021 Worlds or Olympics and U17 Worlds Performance

• Zaur Uguev (RUS) - Gold in 2011 and 2012
• Thomas Gilman (USA) - DNP in 2011
• Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) - Silver in 2015
• Takuto Otoguro (JPN) - Bronze in 2013, DNP in 2014, Gold in 2015
• Amir Yazdani (IRI) - Silver in 2015
• Hassan Yazdani (IRI) - Silver in 2011
• Gable Steveson (USA) - Gold in 2015
• Amir Zare (IRI) - Gold in 2018
• Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) - Gold in 2012 and 2013
• Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) - Silver in 2013

Watch Hassan Yazdani and Gadzhimurad Rashidov square-off in the 2011 U17 World Finals:

Silver Medalists at 2021 World/Olympics and U17 Worlds Performance

• Ravi Kumar (IND) - DNP in 2013
• Daton Fix (USA) - Silver in 2014, Bronze in 2015
• Mohammad Nokhodi (IRI) - Bronze in 2017, DNP in 2018
• Geno Petriashvili (GEO) - Silver in 2011

Before they met in the 2021 senior world finals, Daton Fix and Abasgadzhi Magomedov wrestled at the 2015 U17 World Championships:

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Bronze Medalists at 2021 World/Olympics and U17 Worlds Performance

• Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) - DNP in 2015 and 2016
• Horst Lehr (GER) - DNP in 2015 and 2016
• Toshihiro Hasegawa (JPN) - Bronze in 2013
• Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) - Gold in 2011 and 2012
• Bajrang Punia (IND) - Silver in 2011
• Tulga Tumur-Ochir (MGL) - DNP in 2015
• Fazli Erylimaz (TUR) - DNP in 2014
• Timur Bizhoev (RUS) - Bronze in 2013
• Nika Kentchadze (GEO) - DNP in 2014
• Radik Valiev - Silver in 2014
• Abubakar Abakarov (AZE) - Gold in 2016
• Mahamed Zakariiev (UKR) - DNP in 2013

2021 world champ Amir Zare's 2018 U17 world finals match against Daniel Kerkvliet:

Best Country At U17 = Best At Seniors?

Another facet of U17 Worlds is its revelation of how various countries are developing their athletes and how that translates to senior-level success. The two graphs below show the top 10 countries that medaled at U17 Worlds and then Senior Worlds since 2011.

U17 World Medals By Country Since 2011:

Senior World Medals By Country Since 2011:

A few notable takeaways can be drawn from these numbers. First, and most notable, Russia is currently banned from all world championships (U17s, U20s, and Seniors) this year. Their absence on the men's freestyle side of things will certainly open the door for another country to step up and claim the crown. Look for USA, Iran, India, and Azerbaijan to contend for the team title at this year's U17 World Championships. 

It's also worth noting that 3 of the top 4 countries at U17’s and seniors are the same. The major difference is that team USA performs better at senior worlds than they have at U17 worlds - they notably passed Azerbaijan and Iran to come in at second on the senior level. It’s clear the best wrestlers in the world are developed at an early age and Russia, Iran, USA, and Azerbaijan have the best systems for developing and maintaining that talent.

After the top, the variance in top countries from U17 Worlds to Senior Worlds is notable. Turkey, Cuba, and Georgia took noticeable leaps forward from U17’s to Seniors compared to Japan and India decent after age-level competitions. There are at least two reasons for this variance. First, Japan and India might be future contenders in challenging the top 5 countries at senior worlds and enough time has not yet passed for their young talent to develop. The other option is that Japan and India are developing their talent faster and younger than other countries. 

Time will continue to prove how each country is developing its talent and how that translates to the senior level. One thing is for sure, this year’s U17 Worlds will be a testing ground for the best young wrestlers in the world and will allow us to get a first-look at the world's next international stars.

Check out this year's Team USA's roster for all styles at the U17 World Championships.

The schedule for the 2022 U17 World Championships.