The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has decreed that athletes must ensure they stay under their weight limit without exception, as it explained its decision to reject Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification from the Paris Olympics final.
On August 14, an ad-hoc division of the CAS turned down her appeal against a heartbreaking disqualification from the final for being 100 grams overweight, a verdict that prompted a strong response from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
The CAS released a comprehensive decision on Monday, detailing the reasons for dismissing Vinesh’s appeal.
“The problem for the Athlete is that the Rules are clear as to the weight limit and are the same for all participants. There is no tolerance provided for -– it is an upper limit. It does not even allow for the weight of the singlet. It is clearly up to an athlete to ensure that they remain below that limit,” the CAS said.
“There is no dispute that the Applicant was above the weight limit. She gave the above evidence clearly and directly at the hearing. Her case is that the amount of excess was 100g and that a tolerance should apply as this is a small excess and explicable for reasons such as drinking water and water retention, in particular during the pre-menstrual phase.”
Vinesh, aged 29, was disqualified on the morning of the women’s 50kg freestyle final, with the decision on her appeal coming after three delays.
Vinesh had argued in her appeal that she should be awarded a joint silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who was defeated by her in the semifinals but advanced to the final following the Indian wrestler’s disqualification. The gold medal was secured by American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
