Sixteen-year-old Beau Chartrand of St. Laurent is set to take on the international stage once again as he prepares to represent Canada at the U17 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 19th to 22nd.
Chartrand earns a spot on the Canadian national team for the second straight year and is looking to build on his momentum after winning bronze at last year’s Pan Ams in the Dominican Republic.
He secured his spot after winning the Canadian team trials and Nationals.
From jiu-jitsu to wrestling
Chartrand begins wrestling at age nine, but his path to the sport starts even earlier with Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“My dad really had a passion for combat sports, MMA, and it also grew on me,” he notes. “We went to Winnipeg to go and train and I trained that for about two to three years and then got into wrestling to better my jiu-jitsu.”
That shift soon becomes permanent.
“We eventually just stuck with wrestling because the love really stuck for it for me,” he says. “It showed a lot more opportunities like scholarships and the Olympics.”
National success, international goals
Chartrand currently wrestles in the 80-kilogram weight class and competes in the cadet age category. Despite dealing with multiple injuries throughout the year, he powers through a tough training schedule and earns his spot back on Team Canada.
“It felt really good,” he says of making the team again. “It was a tough year with lots of injuries right starting from last trials to this one.”
He trains alongside university and senior-level athletes in Canada and the United States.
“I trained super hard for going to the States, training with my club and close regional training center and guys at Simon Fraser University, like university and senior level guys,” he adds. “I really put the work in and it eventually showed.”
Chartrand says he feels more confident heading into the Pan Ams this year.
“Last year, it was my first international competition and it was really a new experience to me,” he continues. “Now that I have that experience, I feel very confident going into this next one in Brazil.”
Chartrand builds a winning resume on national stage
Chartrand's wrestling resume is already stacked with major achievements at a young age.
He claimed gold in the 2022 U15 Nationals at 62 kilograms and added a U17 National bronze at 65 kilograms in 2024. His international success includes a gold medal at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games and another at the 2024 Pan American Championships, both in the 74 and 80-kilogram classes respectively.
Chartrand also secured back-to-back Cadet National titles at 80 kilograms in 2024 and 2025.
Balancing school and sport
Heading into Grade 12, Chartrand juggles schoolwork with a packed training and travel schedule.
“My school is really supportive with my training because they know I’m a really high-level wrestler,” he mentions.
Chartrand was attending a Team Canada prep camp in Toronto before flying to Brazil. If he places top three at the Pan Ams, he qualifies for the World Championships in Athens, Greece, this July.
“For Pan Ams, it’s definitely to come home with the gold,” he says. “That’s something I’ve been working towards all year.”
Chartrand’s long-term goal is to compete in college wrestling and make it to the Olympics.
“I’m going to probably try in 2028, but the big goal is 2032,” he remarks.
Inspired by Manitoba roots
One of Chartrand’s inspirations is fellow Manitoba-born wrestler Connor Church.
“He used to wrestle in Manitoba too. He now wrestles in Montreal,” he says. “I’ve always looked up to him.”
Chartrand also has his eye on MMA in the future.
“I’m hoping to try it out once I get older and I’m out of college,” he adds. “I’m really thinking of trying out for sure.”
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