State of Women's Wrestling 2026: Amit Elor, Kennedy Blades, and the New Era
Women's wrestling in 2026: NCAA milestones, results for Elor, Blades, Welker, and Mortimer, and technique courses for coaches and athletes.
By Eric Lundgren · · 6 min read
Women's wrestling reached a new institutional milestone in 2026: the first NCAA National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships. At high school level, growth continued too. The NFHS reported 88,771 girls participating in 2025–26, up 19.9% from the previous year. NFHS participation report.
This snapshot looks at Amit Elor, Kennedy Blades, Kylie Welker, and Sage Mortimer, then connects their wrestling to the instructionals they teach on Ocean.
TL;DR
- Girls' high school wrestling participation reached 88,771 in 2025–26, a 19.9% annual increase reported by the NFHS.
- Amit Elor returned after the birth of her first child, won the May World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, and secured the 72 kg World Team place through forfeits at Final X in June.
- Kennedy Blades is the power-and-pressure athlete — an Olympic silver medalist and 2025 World bronze medalist who made the 2026 World Team at 68 kg
- Kylie Welker and Sage Mortimer represent the college-to-senior pipeline, with Welker a 2025 World bronze medalist and Mortimer a finalist at the first NCAA Women's Championships
- All four athletes teach on Athletes Ocean, with courses on ties, underhooks, leg laces, and pressure hand fighting.
Amit Elor: a generational athlete
Amit Elor is, by results, one of the most dominant American wrestlers of her generation regardless of gender.
Elor won Senior World titles in 2022 and 2023 and Olympic gold at 68 kg in Paris in 2024. USA Wrestling's 2026 coverage identifies her as a three-time Olympic and World champion.
USA Wrestling reported her return to competition after the birth of her first child. She won the May World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at 72 kg, earning a place at Final X. Her final against Precious Wieser ended by fall at 5:31, with 29 seconds remaining. May results.
The World Team spot was secured in June, when Elor received forfeits following Alexandria Glaude's injury withdrawal. USA Wrestling's Final X recap.
Her Olympic and World titles give younger athletes a concrete example of success at the highest international level.
Her Ocean instructional: 2-on-1 Attacks.
Kennedy Blades: power and pressure
Blades's underhook instructional offers a concrete technical lens: earning the tie, maintaining position, and connecting it to leg attacks and throws.
Blades won Olympic silver at 76 kg in 2024 and World bronze at 68 kg in 2025, and she won the inaugural NCAA title at 160 pounds for Iowa in March 2026. Her delayed 2026 World Team series ended when Isabella Mir withdrew, giving Blades the 68 kg spot by forfeit. UWW's September recap.
For a developing wrestler, the useful point is how contact creates an angle or an opening. Hand fighting becomes offense when it is connected to a specific next attack.
Her Ocean instructional: Olympian Underhooks.
Kylie Welker: the technical answer
Welker's Ocean course focuses on leg laces, including entries from par terre and leg-attack situations. That is a specific skill set coaches can incorporate into freestyle training.
Welker won the inaugural NCAA title at 180 pounds for Iowa in March 2026. In September, Dymond Guilford won their delayed 76 kg World Team series after dropping the first bout; Welker remains on the U.S. roster for the U23 World Championships in October. NCAA champions and UWW series recap.
The coaching opportunity is to study the position itself: securing the legs, controlling the opponent's movement, and connecting a takedown to a turn.
Her Ocean instructional: High-Level Leg Laces.
Sage Mortimer: the college pipeline
Grand Valley State's Sage Mortimer finished second at 110 pounds in the inaugural NCAA championship in March 2026. Lehigh's Audrey Jimenez won the weight. Grand Valley State's tournament report.
Mortimer's Pressure Handfighting to Offense gives coaches another neutral-position teaching option. Her college career sat within an expanding national pathway, though resources and opportunities still vary by program.
Her Ocean instructional: Pressure Handfighting to Offense.
What's changing at the structural level
Three shifts worth tracking:
NCAA women's wrestling is official
The first NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships took place March 6–7, 2026, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. McKendree won the team title, with three individual champions. NCAA's championship recap.
High school programs are growing fast
The NFHS's 2025–26 participation report lists 8,853 schools sponsoring girls' wrestling and 88,771 participants. Those figures establish substantial growth without assuming identical progress at every level.
International results offer models to study
Elor's Olympic title and Blades's Olympic silver provide full competition sequences to study. Their courses offer another way to connect elite competition with a specific training goal.
Where instructional content fits
Ocean offers courses taught by all four athletes:
- Amit Elor's 2-on-1 Attacks covers gaining the tie and connecting it to attacks.
- Kennedy Blades's Olympian Underhooks covers underhook position, leg attacks, and throws.
- Kylie Welker's High-Level Leg Laces covers leg-lace variations and entries.
- Sage Mortimer's Pressure Handfighting to Offense focuses on turning contact into offense.
Choose the course that fits the athlete's training goal. Many positional principles are shared across wrestling, while scoring, competition style, and individual matchups shape how they are applied.
What this teaches every wrestler
For wrestlers in any division: study the decisions these athletes make in their ties and transitions, then test a suitable adaptation with your coach.
For women's wrestlers: the college and international pathways offer more examples to learn from. Compare programs by coaching, competition opportunities, and support, alongside results.
For coaches: make sure girls' participation is reflected in practice planning, appropriate training partners, equipment, and competition opportunities.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Amit Elor?
Amit Elor is the 2024 Olympic champion at 68 kg and a two-time Senior World champion. After returning to competition in May 2026, she secured the 72 kg U.S. World Team position at Final X in June.
Is Amit Elor still wrestling?
Yes. USA Wrestling reported her return in May 2026 and her World Team qualification in June. As of October 2, 2026, she is also on the U.S. roster for the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas, October 12–18. The UWW calendar lists the 2026 Senior Worlds in Astana from October 24 to November 1.
Who is the best women's wrestler in the world?
There is no single official ranking across every weight class and era. Elor's Olympic gold and World titles make her a leading American athlete, while comparisons depend on weight, timeframe, and criteria.
Are there women's wrestling instructionals on Athletes Ocean?
Yes. The four courses linked above cover distinct technical goals, from neutral ties to freestyle turns. Choose by the position you want to improve.
How is NCAA women's wrestling structured?
The inaugural 2026 event was a National Collegiate championship across divisions. The NCAA reports that Division III will have its own championship in 2028. Check current NCAA guidance as the structure develops.
What weight classes do women's wrestlers compete in internationally?
The UWW (United World Wrestling) women's weight classes run from 50 kg to 76 kg, with ten weights at the World Championships and six at the Olympics.
Related articles
- Best Wrestling Instructionals in 2026: Picks by Level and Goal
- How to Build a Wrestling Practice: A Practical 90-Minute Template
- Trent Hidlay's World Champ Underhooks: A Guide to Underhook Offense
Eric Lundgren writes about wrestling, grappling, and the systems behind elite-level technique.
Explore the Athletes Ocean library to find instructionals for your training goals.