Olympic disqualification of gold medal hopeful exposes 'dark side' of women's wrestling

PARIS — A female wrestler from India was disqualified from her gold-medal bout at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday morning after weighing in about 100 grams above the maximum limit for her weight class.

For context: That's about 0.22 pounds or 3.5 ounces − roughly the weight of a bar of soap.

The shocking news not only knocked Vinesh Phogat out of the 50-kilogram Olympic final against American Sarah Hildebrandt, where she would've been guaranteed to win no worse than a silver medal. Under international wrestling rules, Phogat's failure to make weight resulted in a full disqualification. She will technically finish dead last.

U.S. wrestling icon Jordan Burroughs, who is on the call for NBC in Paris, described the situation on Twitter as "tragic."

"She has looked amazing this week, and deserved to be on that podium," Burroughs wrote.

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The Indian Olympic Association's chief medical officer, Dinshaw Pardiwala, said in a statement that Phogat used "all possible drastic measures" to lose weight during a sleepless night − including spending time in a sauna, restricting fluids and even cutting off her hair. She was the first Indian wrestler to reach an Olympic final, and her gold or silver would've been the best finish for an Indian athlete at the Paris Games to date.

Phogat's sudden disqualification sent shockwaves across the wrestling world and particularly in India, where high-ranking sports and political officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have weighed in publicly on the story.

But it also casts a bright spotlight on what recently-crowned Olympic gold medalist Amit Elor described to USA TODAY Sports earlier this year as "the dark side of the sport," particularly in women's wrestling: Cutting weight.

"It’s something that a lot of times, if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, it can be really promoted and it’s very unnecessary − especially from a young age," said Elor, who won gold at 68 kilograms on Tuesday night.

"For women, I think weight cutting is very unhealthy and not recommended. Not only physically but mentally, I think it can ruin your relationship with the sport. It makes it less about wrestling and more about sweating and dieting and feeling hungry and tired and weak − and those things are unnecessary, especially when you’re just starting out."

While weight management is an instrinsic part of wrestling across genders, it poses a particular challenges for women, who are both more likely to develop eating disorders and more likely to experience body image dissatisfaction issues than men, according to statistics curated by the National Eating Disorders Association.

Elor, 20, said she is thankful that her parents did not let her cut weight when she was first getting started. At the elite and professional level, however, it is commonplace.

At Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris this week, for example, any wrestler who gets into the mix for a medal winds up competing over parts of two days. They are required to weigh in each morning to ensure they are below the maximum allowable weight in their division, but they can then eat and drink as needed after that to recover their energy.

For Phogat, that schedule led to a frantic and perhaps dangerous rollercoaster of weight gains and losses over a span of 24 hours, according to information released by Indian Olympic officials and reported by Indian news outlets. According to news reports, she easily made weight Tuesday morning but then gained about 2.7 kilograms − or roughly 6 pounds − over the course of the day while rehydrating and refueling after three bouts.

Pardiwala, the Team India medical officer, said that Phogat's nutritionist had anticipated she would gain only about half that amount. The team soon realized that their normal weight-cutting measures − such as "a calculated restriction of food and water" and "sweating from exercises and sauna" − would not work. After a reportedly sleepless night, they resorted to cutting her hair. But to no avail.

After not making weight, Team India said, Phogat was hospitalized for possible dehydration and had blood tests performed. She "feels perfectly well" but is disappointed, the Indian Olympic Association added.

"After three tough matches against world class opponents, no athlete should have to spend the night preparing for a Gold medal in this manner," Burroughs wrote in another tweet, before later lobbying for Olympic organizers to give Phogat a silver medal.

Phogat is one of the many wrestlers in Paris who had to switch out of their usual weight class to compete at the Paris Olympics, where only six weight classes are offered in women's wrestling rather than the usual 10 that are contested at world championships.

Hildebrandt will instead face Yusneylys Guzmán of Cuba at Champ-de-Mars Arena on Wednesday night.

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.