Olympic Wrestler Faints After Failed Frenzied Weight-Loss Attempt
An Indian wrestler who had been hoping to become her country’s first ever female Olympic champion was disqualified only hours before the gold medal bout because she was “a few grams” over the weight limit.
News of Vinesh Phogat’s elimination from the 50kg wrestling competition at the Paris Olympics shocked Indian sports fans. Her disqualification was announced in a statement from the Indian Olympic Association, which said the 29-year-old had weighed in “a few grams” over 50kg despite “the best efforts by the team through the night."
In wrestling and other Olympic combat sports, athletes will often “weight-cut” to qualify for lower weight categories, which means shedding as much as 10 percent of their body weight in the run-up to a competition.