The Court of Arbitration for Sport, on Monday, shared the detailed verdict following their rejection of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal after her disqualification from the Paris Olympics final.
CAS explained that athletes must strictly adhere to their designated weight limits, with no exceptions under any circumstances.
On August 14, the CAS ad-hoc division dismissed Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification for being 100 grams over the weight limit.
Phogat had sought to share the silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who advanced to the final after Phogat’s disqualification.
“The application submitted by Phogat on August 7, 2024, has been dismissed,” stated the Court CAS in their decision.
Phogat was disqualified on the morning of the women’s 50kg freestyle final. Phogat first appealed to be reinstated for the gold medal match against the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, before later modifying her appeal to request a joint silver medal.
Her appeal argued that the 100g excess should be tolerated due to factors like water retention, especially during the premenstrual phase. However, the CAS confirmed that there was no dispute that she exceeded the limit.
“There is no dispute that the Applicant was above the weight limit. She gave the above evidence clearly and directly at the hearing,” the CAS noted in their justification.
Further, the statement read, “The issue for the Athlete is that the rules clearly state a weight limit, which applies to all participants equally. There is no allowance for exceeding it, even for the weight of the singlet. It is the athlete’s responsibility to remain within the limit.”
The detailed report clarified that the athlete competed in three bouts on August 6, 2024, during which she was confirmed to be under the 50kg weight limit, with no dispute regarding her eligibility for those matches.
However, she seemed to have gain weight throughout the day after securing three consecutive victories, including one against defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki, advancing to the quarter-finals.
Ahead of the final, a second weigh-in took place on the morning of August 7, 2024. According to the statement, Phogat initially weighed 150 grams over the 50kg limit.
As per the United World Wrestling International Wrestling Rules 2023, she was allowed to weigh in again 15 minutes later, at which point she was still 100 grams over the limit.
According to the rules established by United World Wrestling, or UWW, the governing body of the sport, two weigh-ins take place in the morning of each competition day. Wrestlers are required to be within the weight limited in order to be eligible to compete.
A group of four pro bono French lawyers represented Phogat in her petition to the CAS, while the Indian Olympic Association were represented by Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania.
Phogat’s petition was presided over by Dr Annabelle Bennett of Australia as the sole arbitrator.