#WrestleAmman

Coles, Canada's first U17 world champ, wants to be an inspiration

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 - 15:38 By Vinay Siwach

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CANADA (December 16) -- "I am not a natural athlete." That's how Kaura COLES (CAN) describes herself. 

The 17-year-old seems to have as much clarity describing herself as she does wrestling on the mat.

She may not be the be a "natural", but she is the best in the world. At the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, Coles became the first Canadian wrestler to win a gold medal. She won gold in the 53kg women's wrestling weight class.

But the odds did not favor Coles. No Canadian wrestler had reached the final at the U17 Worlds, forget winning gold. The last time Canada had a U20 or U17 world champ was in 2013. Coming into the tournament, Coles had a silver medal from the 2022 U17 Pan-Am Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Spain Grand Prix. 

So Coles wasn't favored to win a medal. Nor were the other seven Canadians entered. However, Coles did it. She was so precise in her wrestling, that her opponents were shocked to see her counter from negative positions.

Coles' win was one of the highlights of international wrestling in 2024 and a big boost for Canada and its wrestling after its medalless Olympics in Paris.

"I did not expect to do as well as I did,” she said later. “I can't predict the outcome of the match. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can every match."

In Amman, Coles began with two pins over Madkhiya USMANOV (KAZ) and Chloe BREWIS (RSA). She then went on to upset MUSKAN (IND) 12-3 in the quarterfinals, Isabelle GONZALES (USA) 8-3 in the semifinals and securing a fall in the finals against Nana KOZUKA (JPN), undeterred by names or a Japanese opponent.

Coles began wrestling when she was 11 years old when her father, Cory, took her to the gym because he did not want her to just sit around all day. Kaura is one of the 11 Coles siblings from Winnipeg. She is number six with five younger siblings and she coaches them as well.

"If you had watched me wrestling four years ago, you would have never thought I could have achieved anything. Worst wrestler by far," Coles told FloWrestling. "But I knew how to do a 2-on-1. So every match, every practice, I would be grabbing a 2-on-1. For six years I have been doing that and just developed and became very good from that position. [I do well] Tying up with people. I don't do well from space since I am a slow wrestler. I want to get an underhook or a 2-on-1."

She worked hard. Having wrestler siblings around her improved her as she had to keep up with the sibling rivalries growing in the house.

"I have to be a tough wrestler just to survive every day [with my brother]," she said. "But they all wrestled, my sisters wrestle too. Everyone works hard and it makes it a lot easier"

But in the beginning, Coles did not like the sport or working hard to be better at it.

“I did not like it at first because it’s a very hard sport," Coles told The Free Press. "Back then, I didn’t really like hard work because it’s hard to like that. But over time, I saw the benefits of putting in the hard work and seeing where it can get you."

Kaura COLES (CAN)Kaura COLES (CAN) defeated Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

So far, wrestling has made Coles a three-time national wrestling champion, U17 Pan-American silver medalist, North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) champion and of course, world champion.

But Coles wants to do more. As a Métis herself, she wants to inspire, coach, and promote Indigenous groups.

"I want to be an inspiration for the other Indigenous and Métis warriors in Canada," Coles said after winning the gold. "I don't wrestle for myself."

Coles' mother Michelle is a Métis, an Indigenous group in Canada, and has kept their culture in the house including learning French. Coles wore her Métis sash after the medal ceremony at the U17 Worlds.

"I wear my Métis sash whenever I can," she said. "I have other Indigenous people come up to me and tell me how I have inspired them. I'm so glad that I was able to represent."

Another one of Coles' is to be at the Olympics. Canada has won six medals at the Olympics in Women's Wrestling. But the last came in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My goal is to go to the next Olympics when I'm 21 years old and then I want to go to the Olympics after that," she said. "Then I will retire."

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo Ranking Series 2026 Entries

Thursday, February 12, 2026 - 10:44 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (February 12) -- The second Ranking Series of the year -- Muhamet Malo -- will see around 500 wrestlers. The tournament will take place in Tirana from February 25 to March 1.

All the action from Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event will be live on UWW+ on uww.org and the UWW App.

Here's the full schedule of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

Follow United World Wrestling on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.

Note: Entries are subject to change. For latest entries, click here

Freestyle Entries

57kg
Ajndi KRYEZIU (ALB)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Akshay DHERE (IND)
SUMIT (IND)
Atish TODKAR (IND)
Abzal OKENOV (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Yusuf DEMIR (TUR)
Liam CRONIN (USA)
Spencer LEE (USA)
Ramiz GAMZATOV (UWW)

61kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Ersjan KASHIKU (ALB)
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO)
RAHUL (IND)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Caleb SMITH (PUR)
Azatberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM)
Michael MCGEE (USA)
Nathan TOMASELLO (USA)
Chermen TAVITOV (UWW)
Zavur UGUEV (UWW)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

65kg
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Rashid BABAZADE (AZE)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO)
Mikheili BERDZNISHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
SUJEET (IND)
Mohit KUMAR (IND)
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ)
Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ)
Oskonbai ABDISAMATOV (KGZ)
Pavel GRAUR (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Joseph MCKENNA (USA)
Real WOODS (USA)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
SIDDHARTH (IND)
Maiis ALIYEV (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ)
Zalkarbek TABALDIEV (KGZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Austin GOMEZ (MEX)
Alec PANTALEO (USA)
Ridge LOVETT (USA)
Tyler KASAK (USA)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW)

74kg
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Petar PETROV (BUL)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
PARVINDER (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Yegor ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM)
Omer CAYIR (TUR)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)
William LEWAN (USA)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)
Inalbek SHERIEV (UWW)
Farhad NOURI (UWW)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)

79kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Aykan SEID (BUL)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Cameron AMINE (USA)
Dean HAMITI (USA)
Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)

86kg
Ibrahim SULA (ALB)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Christopher FOCA MEJIA (DOM)
Dachi PAPINASHVILI (GEO)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
ARYAN (IND)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Alp Arslan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Kyle DAKE (USA)
Ibragim KADIEV (UWW)

92kg
Albin PEPOSHI (ALB)
Mate KOLA (ALB)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO)
Punit KUMAR (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ)
Iakov CHAPLIN (KGZ)
Filip ROGUT (POL)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Jacob CARDENAS (USA)
Dustin PLOTT (USA)

97kg
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
AKASH (IND)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
VICKY (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Emirhan KILIC (TUR)
Rifat GIDAK (TUR)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Jonathan AIELLO (USA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW)
Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW)

125kg
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Mohsen SIYAR (GER)
RONAK (IND)
Rajat RUHAL (IND)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Omar Ihab SAREM (ROU)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
Trent HILLGER (USA)
Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)
Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW)

Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)World champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) will return to action at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan) 

Greco-Roman Entries

55kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE)
LALIT (IND)
Vishvajit MORE (IND)
Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ)
Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Rasul JORAYEV (TKM)
William SULLIVAN (USA)
Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW)

60kg
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Udit PATEL (IND)
SURAJ (IND)
Akzhol TUYAKOV (KAZ)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Dalton ROBERTS (USA)
Maxwell BLACK (USA)
Sadyk LALAEV (UWW)
Suner KONUNOV (UWW)

63kg
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Sakit GULIYEV (AZE)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
CHETAN (IND)
SAURABH (IND)
Ali HAJIVAND (IRI)
Bakytzhan KABDYL (KAZ)
Yerkebulan ARDAKOV (KAZ)
Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ)
Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Sergey EMELIN (UWW)

67kg
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS)
Mahammad SHUKURZADE (AZE)
Andres MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
ANKIT (IND)
Karanjit SINGH (IND)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Jan OEHLEN (SWE)
Kakabay KAKABAYEV (TKM)
Alston NUTTER (USA)
Otto BLACK (USA)
Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW)
Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW)

72kg
Xhord GJONI (ALB)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Sourav MALIK (IND)
Hojat REZAEI (IRI)
Mohammad REZAEI (IRI)
Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ)
Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ)
Nikolay KHAPKO (KAZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Didar ORAZBERDIYEV (TKM)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Kamil AKHMETVALEEV (UWW)
Magomed BARAKHOEV (UWW)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
AMAN (IND)
Nishant PHOGAT (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Amir ABDI (IRI)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (UWW)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Ilgis KANYBEKOV (KGZ)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Britton HOLMES (USA)
Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW)
Imran ALIEV (UWW)
Sergei STEPANOV (UWW)
Shuai MAMEDAU (UWW)

82kg
Marjan KOLA (ALB)
Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
PRINCE (IND)
Mohammadamin HOSSEINI (IRI)
Almir TOLEBAYEV (KAZ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Kamal BEY (USA)
George SIKES (USA)
Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW)
Dmitrii DZHIOEV (UWW)
Iraklii KALANDIIA (UWW)

87kg
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Jamal ESMAEILI (IRI)
Baurzhan MUSSIN (KAZ)
Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ)
Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (UWW)
Alan OSTAEV (UWW)
Islam ALIEV (UWW)
Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW)

97kg
Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Vikrant BHORIYA (IND)
Amirreza MORADIYAN (IRI)
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)
Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ)
Raiymbek TURSYN (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Uros KRSTIN (SRB)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Keith MILEY (USA)
Michial FOY (USA)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW)
Adlan AMRIEV (UWW)
Artur SARGSIAN (UWW)

130kg
Griseldi KODRA (ALB)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
HARDEEP (IND)
Uttam RANA (IND)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Aden ATTAO (USA)
Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (UWW)
Marat KAMPAROV (UWW)
Ali ILIASOV (UWW)

Genesis REASCO (ECU)World champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) will be the favorite at 76kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov) 

Women's Wrestling Entries

50kg
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Thalia OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA (ECU)
MUSKAN (IND)
Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND)
SWEETY (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Miyu NAKAMURA (JPN)
Maral TANGIRBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)
Kendra RYAN (USA)
Valeriia TIUKPIEKOVA CHEPSARAKOVA (UWW)

53kg
MEENAKSHI (IND)
Ayazhan MARKASHEVA (KAZ)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW)

55kg
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
PUSHPA (IND)
Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ)
Beatrice FERENT (ROU)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Aleksandra SKIRENKO (UWW)
Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW)

57kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Jenna HEMIAE (FIN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Neha SHARMA (IND)
NEHA (IND)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Felicitas DOMAJEVA (NOR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Kristina MIKHNEVA (UWW)

59kg
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Dilan TAN (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Abigail NETTE (USA)
Michaela BECK (USA)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW)

62kg
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
ANJLI (IND)
MANSI (IND)
SAVITA (IND)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
Macey KILTY (USA)
Amina TANDELOVA (UWW)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW)
Valeriia DONDUPOVA (UWW)

65kg
Apeksha PATIL (IND)
Aizhan SUIDUOVA (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)
Jennifer PAGE ROGERS (USA)
Nina KEMU MAKEM (USA)
Alina KASABIEVA (UWW)

68kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Laura KOEHLER (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
KIRTI (IND)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBER (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Destiny ADEYELE LYNG (USA)
Solin PIEARCY (USA)

72kg
Daniela BRASNAROVA (BUL)
Diksha MALIK (IND)
Reshma MANE (IND)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

76kg
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Genesis REASCO (ECU)
Jennifer ROESLER (GER)
KAJAL (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Kadriye KOCAK AKSOY (TUR)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)