Aleia Apostol, Piper Fry and Matilda Hruby make up the 2026 Youth Olympic Games roster for USA Wrestling. The trio will compete in beach wrestling in Dakar, Senegal, at Saly Beach West. Dakar 2026 takes place October 30-November 13, with beach wrestling taking place on November 7-8.
The U.S. received allocations at 45 kg, 65 kg and 75 kg in the women’s beach wrestling field.
Fresh off winning the 2026 U17 World title last week in Baku, Azerbaijan, Hruby qualified for the Youth Olympic Games after winning gold at the 2026 U17 Pan American Championships at 75 kg.
Hruby’s first two beach wrestling appearances ended with gold, winning the World and continental titles. Hruby also captured the U17 Pan American title in women’s freestyle earlier this year and won the Girls High School Showcase at the U.S. Open.
Fry (45 kg) and Apostol (65 kg) both earned their spots on Team USA after winning titles at the 2026 Carolina Beach Nationals.
Fry joined Hruby at last week’s U17 Beach World Championships and placed seventh overall with a 1-2 mark. At the Carolina Beach Nationals, Fry rolled through her round-robin bracket at 45 kg, posting a 3-0 mark.
Apostol was a teammate of Hruby’s at the U17 Pan American Championships but dropped a 2-2 decision in her first match of the tournament. Apostol only allowed one point across her three bouts, going undefeated at Carolina Beach Nationals.
The Youth Olympic Games is a major multi-sport youth competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. Wrestling is one of 25 sports on the official program at Dakar 2026. This is only the fourth Youth Olympic Games for Summer Olympic sports, and competing in this event is a major honor for a young athlete. This will be the first Summer Youth Olympic Games since 2018, when the event took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Beach wrestling will be the only wrestling discipline being contested at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. Eight weight classes are being contested in beach wrestling, four in women’s wrestling and four in men’s wrestling. Athletes competing in wrestling are in the U17 age group.
This will be the first time beach wrestling has been a part of the Summer Youth Olympic Games program.
Live coverage and the complete event schedule for Dakar 2026 will be announced at a later date.
At Dakar, Senegal, November 7-8
Reference Links
U.S. Beach Wrestling Roster
45 kg – Piper Fry (Manchester, Mich./Michigan Wrestling Academy)
65 kg – Aleia Apostol (Kahuku, Hawaii/Na Koa Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)
75 kg – Matilda Hruby (Brighton, Colo./Brighton WC)
