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Team USA has three returning U17 World medalists leading its 10-woman squad into the 2026 U17 World Championships at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. The World Championships begin on Monday, July 27, and the first day of women’s freestyle competition is Wednesday, July 29.

Two-time U17 World champion Taina Fernandez is among the returning medalists for the U.S. as she looks to win her third-straight U17 World title. After winning her first two titles at 61 kg, Fernandez moves up two weight classes and will compete at 69 kg this year. Last year Fernandez rolled to the title, picking up three bonus wins by shutout, including a pin in the semifinals. For her second-straight championship, Fernandez won an 11-0 match over India’s Yashita. Across her eight U17 World bouts, she has posted shutouts in seven matches and has seven bonus wins.

Epenesa Elison (57 kg) advanced all the way to the U17 World finals last year in Athens, Greece, and claimed silver in her first Worlds action. The final returning World medalist from 2025 is Madison Healey (46 kg), who won bronze. Healey finished with four wins at U17 Worlds last summer, with each coming by fall. Her lone defeat came in a 1-1 contest to eventual gold medalist Rachana of India.

Along with the trio of U17 World medalists, Kaili Manuel (73 kg) brings age-group World Championship experience to this year’s squad after competing at the 2024 U17 World Championships and placing 11th.

Sophia Valdez (40 kg), Marlee Solomon (53 kg), Landri Von Gonten (61 kg) and Eve Skrocki (65 kg) all made their Team USA debuts earlier this year at age-group Pan American Championships. Each of the four took gold on the continental stage. Solomon won her gold just two weeks ago at the U20 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Valdez, Von Gonten and Skrocki each won gold at the U17 Pan American Championships in April.

Isla Silva, who is competing at 49 kg, first represented the U.S. at the 2024 U15 Pan American Championship and won gold. Lilly Lundy will make her Team USA debut this coming week in Baku.

The women’s freestyle U17 World Team was set based on the results from U17 World Team Trials, which were part of Women’s Nationals in Spokane, Wash., in April.

Russia currently has 13 women’s freestyle wrestlers entered in the field, with India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Team USA fielding one wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes. In total, 40 countries are represented across 199 athletes currently entered in the women’s freestyle field.

Team USA finished second at the 2025 U17 World Championships with 142 points, just nine points behind champions India. Japan rounded out the top three with 113 points. The U.S. finished last year’s event with seven medals across the 10 weight classes.

Competition at the 2026 U17 World Championships kicks off on Monday, July 27. The first day of women’s freestyle action is set for Wednesday, July 29, and the discipline concludes on Friday, July 31. The Greco-Roman tournament kicks off the event, and men’s freestyle wraps up the championships.

The complete women’s freestyle event schedule is available below.

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