Getty Image / Aytac Unal
Wrestling is a tough sport, full of incredible sacrifice and hard work, largely due to the need to make weight at a weight that you will be competitive at. Indian Women’s Freestyle wrestler Vinesh Phogat reminded the entire sports world of that on Wednesday.
After advancing to the Olympic Finals at the 50kg weight class at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Tuesday, Phogat was unable to get her weight back below 50kg, and missed weight Tuesday morning in Paris.
Not only will Vinesh Phogat not be able to wrestle in the finals against American Sarah Hildebrandt Tuesday evening in Paris, but she will not even be awarded the silver medal that she had theoretically earned by advancing to the finals.
Here’s what a member of her team said to Sports Star about the incident.
“Her normal weight is 57 kgs, and she did everything to get down to 50. She was 49.9 kg yesterday morning, but the moment she had even a small meal, her weight bounced back to at least 53 kg. She had to reach this weight to have the strength to fight in three bouts,” a member of her camp told Sportstar.
“After the semifinals last night, her weight was 52.7 kg. She didn’t sleep even a minute, didn’t drink a sip of water, and didn’t have a morsel of food. She spent the entire night running and using the sauna. She made it to 50.1 kg but didn’t have time to cut the last 100 grams. There was no leeway and no extra time to make weight,” the member added.
Such is life in wrestling, as there’s no allowance given at the Olympic Games on day 2 of a competition. In the United States, folkstyle wrestling tournaments like the NCAA Championships allow a one-pound allowance for each day of competition after scratch weight the first day. For example, a wrestler at the 125lb weight class will have to make 125lb on day one, 126lb on day two, and 127lb on day three.
But, ultimately, the blame lies with Phogat for wrestling at a weight that was unsustainable in terms of making weight consistently. While she was beaten out at 53kg for a spot on the Indian team, she could’ve gone up to 57kg. Instead, she chose to go down a weight class and put her health and ability to make weight at risk.
And, if you’re wondering why they wouldn’t even give her the silver medal, seeing as how she advanced to the gold medal match, there’s a pretty logical explanation.
There would be little stopping a wrestler to cut down to a weight they have no prayer of making a second day, and then rehydrating a significant amount on day one for a huge advantage over the field and settling for silver when they can’t make weight the next day. That’s antithetical to the sport, as wrestlers can easily rehydrate and gain double digits worth of pounds in a single day. .
Sarah Hildebrandt won’t just get the gold medal at these Summer Olympics, though. Instead, she will wrestler the wrestler that Vinesh Phogat beat in the semifinals, Cuban Yusnelyis Guzman-Lopez, in Wednesday evening’s finals, Paris time.