'Thought Vinesh Phogat forfeited': Paris Olympics gold medallist Hildebrandt's reacts to disqualification
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Aug 8, 2024, 1:44 PM IST"I prepared for chaos, but that was not on my bingo card of chaos," said American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, who defeated Lopez to bag the gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024.
American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, who clinched the Olympic gold in the 50kg category at the Paris Olympics 2024 after Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for being overweight, admitted she was ready for challenges on the morning of the final bout but not the unexpected drama involving the Indian wrestler.
Vinesh was disqualified and replaced by Cuban Yusneylis Guzman Lopez for the Olympic final. The 29-year-old Indian had previously defeated Lopez in the semifinals and was scheduled to face Hildebrandt for the gold, but she was found to be 100gm over the weight limit during the Wednesday morning weigh-in.
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"I prepared for chaos, but that was not on my bingo card of chaos," said Hildebrandt, who defeated Lopez to bag the gold medal.
The 30-year-old American wrestler, who previously secured a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, shared that she didn't see Vinesh at the weigh-in and briefly assumed the Indian wrestler had forfeited the match.
"(Vinesh) wasn't at weigh-ins, so I was in my head like, 'Oh my gosh, this might be a possibility.' Then, we get the news that she didn't make weight, and we were under the impression that it was a forfeit. So, there was a lot of celebrating," she recalled after the final.
"It was very strange, like 'Oh my god, I just won the Olympics.' Then an hour later, they were like, 'You did not win the Olympics.' I'm like, 'Oh, this is very weird.' So there had to be a reset. I took a nap, woke up, and it was like a fever dream."
Vinesh, who had moved to the 50kg category earlier this year to compete for an Olympic spot, took extreme measures to make weight, including fasting, avoiding fluids, and staying up all night to sweat it out. Despite her efforts, she still fell short and became so dehydrated that she required IV fluids at a polyclinic in the Games Village.
Hildebrandt, on the other hand, had also dropped from 55kg to 50kg but had made this decision two years prior.
"The weight cut has taken a lot of deliberate education and discipline," she said.
"I actually started the weight cut for these Games back at the end of 2022. I was like, 'Everything I do, from here on out, is going to feed into (Paris) 2024. So, it's going to be uncomfortable in 2023'. I'm so happy to say that I've had the smoothest cut of my life for Paris 2024. It paid off," the American concluded.
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