American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt spoke about Indian grappler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the women’s 50 kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Vinesh was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight and was replaced by Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez in the fight for bronze medal. Hildebrandt defeated Guzman Lopez in the final to win the gold medal in the women’s 50kg event. Hildebrandt, also a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, recalled the confusion she felt during the weigh-in, saying she initially thought Vinesh had given up.
“I prepared for chaos, but that wasn’t on my chaos bingo card. (Vinesh) wasn’t at the weigh-in, so I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, that could be a possibility.’ Then we received the news that she hadn’t gained weight and we were under the impression that it was a withdrawal. So, there was a lot of celebration,” said Hildebrandt, quoted by PTI.
“It was really weird, like, ‘Oh my God, I just won the Olympics.’ Then an hour later they said, ‘You didn’t win the Olympics.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s really weird.’ So there had to be a reboot. I took a nap, woke up and it was like a fever dream,” she added.
Hildebrandt also revealed that she herself dropped from 55kg to 50kg two years ago to prepare for the Paris Olympics.
“Losing weight required a lot of education and deliberate discipline. I actually started weight loss for these Games at the end of 2022. I thought, ‘Everything I do from now on is going to contribute to (Paris) 2024. So it’s going to be uncomfortable in 2023.’ “I’m very happy to say that I had the smoothest cut of my life for Paris 2024. It was worth it,” added Hildebrandt.
A day after his disqualification, Vinesh bid adieu to his international wrestling career on Thursday, saying he no longer has the strength to continue.
(With PTI inputs)
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