| My name is Kayden Hanlon, and I wrestle for ATC Las Vegas. I’m a sophomore at Faith Lutheran High School. I regularly set both short-term and long-term goals for myself. A few years ago, I set a long-term goal to compete in a World Championships for my home country. The selection process is a long and competitive pathway. First, I had to win the English championships, then the British championships. |
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| I won both of these, and these victories earned me a spot on the 17u Great Britain team to compete around the world. My first competition was in Flatz, Austria. I needed to win two matches to qualify for the next stage: the 17u European Championships |
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| At Flatz, I was in a bracket of 16 champions from various countries across Europe. My first match was against Switzerland. I was nervous competing against these kids because their style is different, and being on the other side of the world added to the pressure. I won the match by technical fall. Then I was up against a really tough kid from Poland; it was a battle, but I won 8-2. The next opponent was from Hungary, whom I pinned in the first round, thanks to years of folkstyle training with hooks in and a power half. This meant I was in the final against the home team, Austria, and I emerged victorious after a hard-fought, nail-biting match, 12-8. I became the 17u Flatz Champion. Next, it was on to the European Championships. |
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| This competition was in North Macedonia, featuring 21 of the best kids in Europe. My first match was against the Ukraine Champion. I got ahead early, 2-0, with a takedown, but by the end of the first round, I was down 4-2. The second round didn’t play out how I wanted, and I ended up losing on points. |
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These brackets are different from standard ones in the US, where you only get to wrestle again if the person who beats you makes it to the final. At the end of the nerve-wracking day, the Ukrainian did make it to the final, where he got injured and took second. I then wrestled again in the Repechage against a strong kid from Israel. I got the win 9-4. After this, I was up against an opponent from Georgia. I wasn’t successful against this kid, who took third. I made it to the top 10, which qualified me for the World Championships in Athens, Greece.
My goal was achieved.
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| Being the only 15-year-old in the 17u 71kg World Championships, I knew it was going to be the toughest level of competition I had ever been on the mat with. I couldn’t stop taking in the glory of being there with the best in the world; every early morning workout, every late-night workout, every extra rep, extra set, and extra sprint was worth it to get to where I was today. |
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| The brackets were drawn, and my first match was against the Uzbekistan champion, who looked absolutely amazing. I was warming up with my GBR teammate and also some of my friends on the USA team, but I wasn’t prepared for a kid that was so skilled, and I lost the match.
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Again, I had to wait to see if the Uzbekistan kid made it to the final to see if I could wrestle in the Repechage, but he ended up losing a close match to Jayden James, the USA kid who won the bracket. The Uzbekistan kid wrestled the repechage all the way back to where he lost for third place.
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| I was deeply upset but knew I deserved to be there. Losing to these top kids around the world will only drive me for next year. The experience of wrestling in the World Championships under the lights, on the screen, surrounded by World Champions and Olympic Champions, is where I want to be. The feeling will never be forgotten, and I will train and work harder than ever before, ready for the next big opportunity which will be in September for the U17/U20 Beach World Championships |
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| During this long process, I was still training in other styles—Greco and Folkstyle—at ATC and also competing for my High School, Faith Lutheran, where I won Regionals and State as a Freshman. I also won USA Western States in Greco and made it to the Greco final at Fargo, losing closely to a tough kid from Pennsylvania. |
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| This is only the beginning. This next season, my goals are to win state again, place at the next Worlds, and place at the Youth Olympics 2026. |
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Here is the link to Kayden’s First Athlete of the Month for NVSportsLocal
Kayden Hanlon Bio Part 1 |
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