The best 17 and under wrestlers from around the world will converge on the ancient city of Istanbul, Turkey to compete for gold. Who all is coming, where do they come from, and what would a map of all registered competitors look like? We have the answers for you!

It should also be noted that while the wrestling federations of Russia and Belarus are still suspended, there are one or two wrestlers entered in most weight classes as 'neutral athletes'. For the purpose of map creation, we made educated guesses as to whether the entries originally hailed from either Russia or Belarus and mapped accordingly. 

You can find a list of all registered wrestlers here. A preview of the event from UWW is here. 

Men's Freestyle Participants

A full complement of male freestyles will be representing the traditional powers of the USA, Iran and Russia. India, Japan and Turkey will also send the maximum and will also be contending for team trophies, as will the countries in the Caucasus Mountains: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Additionally, the central Asian federations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia are sending a full ten. 

Taking in the rest of the map, it's nice to see reps from a broad swath of both Eastern and Western Europe, as well as a few countries in Southern Africa, sending competitors to Turkey. And New Zealand entering a wrestler is always appreciated.

Women's Freestyle Participants

Powerhouse Japan is sending the maximum number of women's wrestlers, as to be expected. The host nation of Turkey will be sporting a full lineup, as will the Americans (naturally). India, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan round out the list of countries with full distaff lineups. 

Europe and Asia will provide the majority of the competitors, with a smattering of African federations as well. Less idea is that besides the US, only Puerto Rico and Ecuador are sending any female wrestlers from the Western Hemisphere. 

Greco-Roman Participants

11 countries are sending full Greco squad, one less than the men's freestylers, who had 12 countries with 10 entries. 10 of the 12 countries with full men's freestyle teams also sent 10 Greco competitors. The differences being Armenia, who will send 9 Greco wrestlers and Mongolia, who will send zero (Greco does not seem to have caught on in the wrestling-crazed country). Kyrgyzstan is the only country sending 10 Greco wrestlers while not utilizing their full allotment of men's freestyle spots. 

Greco appears to be making headway in South and Central America, as several nations are sending wrestlers to this event. This is in contrast to Africa, where continental power Egypt will send nine, with only two other Namibians in Turkey being the only other reps from Africa. 

Total Participants (All 3 Styles)

A map of all the entries show how wrestling is truly a global sport. Though we will see more entries from additional countries at the senior world championships, it is still unfortunate to see a lack of entries at U17s from China, Sweden, and most especially Ukraine. 

But rather than end the blog on a down note, let's all get pumped to watch an outstanding event featuring the future stars of the oldest, greatest, and most inspiring sport the world has ever known.