OTTAWA — Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is proud to announce the athletes, coaches and support staff who will represent Canada at the 2026 U23 World Championships, October 12-18 in Las Vegas, U.S.

“Wrestling Canada Lutte is sending a 20-athlete team with extensive international experience to compete at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas,” said Chris Woodcroft, WCL High-Performance Director. “Each team member has competed internationally over the past year, and many have won medals at the Pan-American Championships. WCL views the U23 Worlds as another significant international development step that will provide valuable experience as many of these athletes prepare for future Senior World Championships and Olympic Games.”

Among the medalists on this year’s team is Calgary’s Gabriela Cross. The Dinos Wrestling Club member earned a gold medal earlier this year at the U23 Pan-American Championships in Peru. The medal was Cross’s third consecutive at the event, having won bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025. Having now collected all three medal colours at the Pan-Ams, she will look to add a world medal in Las Vegas when she competes at 57 kg.

On the men’s side, Kade Brown will be one to watch. The Brunswick, Ohio, native, who represents Canada through Coast RTC, captured a U20 Pan-American gold medal in 2025. Now moving up to the U23 age group, Brown will look to add another medal for Canada when he competes in Las Vegas at 70kg.

2026 U23 World Championship Team

Joining the athletes are event coaches Chris Woodcroft, Paul Ragusa and Dave Spinney; personal coaches Frank Mensah, Randy Smith, Tony Ronci, Logan Stieber, Dylan D’Emilio, Marty Calder and Gord Sturrock; Athletic Therapist Teresa Budwal; and Team Leader Kale Whitton.

Ed Zinger, Carl Chan and Abbas Mohammadian will represent Canada as officials.

For live updates, schedules, and results, visit the official tournament page. The event will be streamed on UWW+.