By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – United World Wrestling released its women’s freestyle seeds for the 2026 Senior World Championships based on the preliminary entry list.

Five U.S. athletes are seeded in the top eight of their brackets—Returning champion Helen Maroulis (No. 2 seed at 57 kg), two-time age-group World medalist Adaugo Nwachukwu (No. 3 at 62 kg), two-time age-group World champion Cristelle Rodriguez-Dobler (No. 5 at 53 kg), two-time World Team member Abby Nette (No. 5 at 59 kg), and returning bronze medalist Kennedy Blades (No. 5 at 68 kg). 

The remaining five Americans—Morgan Turner (50 kg), Everest Leydecker (55 kg), who was the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2026, Kayla Miracle (65 kg), Precious Wieser (72 kg) and Dymond Guilford (76 kg)—will enter the women’s freestyle tournament unseeded and drawn into brackets at random. 

Seeds are determined based upon the aggregation of ranking points for the year, which are earned by placements at the previous year’s World Championships, plus continental championships and ranking series events. 

A complete list of entries for the Senior World Championships is available at uww.org. Entries and seeds are subject to change prior to the official draw. 

The Senior World Championships will be held October 24 through November 1 at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan. Women’s freestyle takes the mat mid-week for Team USA, after Greco-Roman and before men’s freestyle. 

The event will stream live on FloWrestling.com to the U.S. market. United World Wrestling will provide brackets and updated results on uww.org. 

For more information on the Senior World Championships, visit the USA Wrestling Event Hub.

2026 Senior World Championships 

At Astana, Kazakhstan, October 24 – November 1  

Reference Links 

• Women's freestyle entry list

• USA Wrestling event hub

• Live stream

• Brackets and results 

Women’s Freestyle Seeds 

50 kg 

1. Elizaveta Smirnova (Russia)

2. Evin Demirhan (Türkiye)

3. Oksana Livach (Ukraine)

4. Zeinep Bayanova (Kazakhstan)

5. Agata Goluchowska (Poland)

6. Nohalis Loyo Jimenez (Venezuela)

7. Ziqi Feng (China)

8. Neelam (India) 

53 kg 

1. Lucia Yepez (Ecuador)

2. Emma Malmgren (Sweden)

3. Jin Zhang (China)

4. Roksana Zasina (Poland)

5. Cristelle Rodriguez-Dobler (United States)

6. Christianah Ogunsanya (Nigeria)

7. Zeynep Yetgil Kamal (Türkiye)

8. Andreea Ana (Romania) 

55 kg 

1. Ekaterina Verbina (Russia)

2. Kyong Ryong Oh (North Korea)

3. Karla Godinez (Canada)

4. Yaynelis Sanz (Cuba)

5. Tuba Demir (Türkiye)

6. Anastasia Blayvas (Germany)

7. Laura Almaganbetova (Kazakhstan)

8. Nataliia Klivchutska (Ukraine) 

57 kg 

1. Kexin Hong (China)

2. Helen Maroulis (United States)

3. Evelina Hulthen (Sweden)

4. Iryna Kurachkina (Belarus)

5. Elvira Suleyman (Türkiye)

6. Nilufar Raimova (Kazakhstan)

7. Luisa Valverde (Ecuador)

8. Magdalena Glodek (Poland) 

59 kg 

1. Mariia Vynnyk (Ukraine)

2. Othelie Hoeie (Norway)

3. Laurence Beauregard (Canada)

4. Bediha Gun (Türkiye)

5. Abby Nette (United States)

6. Svetlana Lipatova (Russia)

7. Jowita Wrzesien (Poland)

8. Bolortuya Khurelkhuu (Mongolia) 

62 kg 

1. Amina Tandelova (Russia)

2. Bilyana Dudova (Bulgaria)

3. Adaugo Nwachukwu (United States)

4. Esther Kolawole (Nigeria)

5. Grace Bullen (Norway)

6. Johanna Lindborg (Sweden)

7. Veranika Ivanova (Belarus)

8. Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) 

65 kg 

1. Alina Kasabieva (Russia)

2. Enkhjin Tuvshinjargal (Mongolia)

3. Irina Ringaci (Moldova)

4. Gulnura Tashtanbekova (Kyrgyzstan)

5. Elma Zeidlere (Latvia)

6. Nana Ikehata (Japan)

7. Virginia Jimenez (Chile)

8. Birgul Soltanova (Azerbaijan) 

68 kg 

1. Ami Ishii (Japan)

2. Jia Long (China)

3. Nesrin Bas (Türkiye)

4. Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan)

5. Kennedy Blades (United States)

6. Noémi Szabados (Hungary)

7. Manola Skobelska (Ukraine)

8. Tindra Sjoeberg (Sweden) 

72 kg 

1. Nurzat Nurtaeva (Kyrgyzstan)

2. Zhamila Bakbergenova (Kazakhstan)

3. Zelu Li (China)

4. Wiktoria Choluj (Poland)

5. Alexandra Anghel (Romania)

6. Bolortungalag Zorigt (Mongolia)

7. Zsuzsanna Molnar (Slovakia)

8. Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (Türkiye) 

130 kg 

1. Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)

2. Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (Ukraine)

3. Milaimy Marin (Cuba)

4. Davaanasan Enkh Amar (Mongolia)

5. Kajal (India)

6. Gulmaral Yerkebayeva (Kazakhstan)

7. Damola Ojo (Nigeria)

8. Wenji Li (China)