18-year-old Jax Forrest in the semifinals of the World Freestyle Wrestling Championship

Today, September 13th, the 2025 World Wrestling Championships kicked off in Zagreb. The first day of the tournament featured competitions in the 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, and 125kg weight categories.

The names of the semifinalists in these categories have been announced, and among them is a new star from the USA - Jax Forrest. He is only 18 years old but has already made a confident entry onto the world stage. Forrest is a two-time PIAA Class AA state champion and has also competed and won several open collegiate tournaments. In freestyle wrestling, he earned a silver medal in the U17 age group at the 2022 World Championships.

In April 2024, Forrest made his senior-level debut, and by July 2025, he earned a spot on the US senior national team by defeating world champion Vito Arujau in the qualification tournament, winning two matches with a combined score of 11-5.

Today, he advanced to the World Championship semifinals, where his opponent will be Olympic champion and Russian representative Zaur Uguev. On his path to the semifinals, Jax defeated a wrestler from South Korea, then the strong Japanese wrestler Takaru Otuku (Note: Name may need verification), and finally, Tairbek Zhumashbekov from Kyrgyzstan.

His collection so far includes only Pan-American gold and a silver from the U17 World Championships. Today, he has a chance to officially add to his collection if he advances to the World Championship final.