Sarah Hildebrandt, who clinched gold in the women’s 50kg wrestling category at the Paris Olympics, has opened up about her intense weight-cutting practices. Her revelations come in the wake of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification for being 100 grams over the weight limit.
Hildebrandt’s path to gold was unexpectedly turbulent. Initially, when Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for exceeding the weight limit, it seemed Hildebrandt had won the gold by default. However, an hour later, she was notified that she would still need to compete against Yusneylis Guzman Lopez from Cuba for the title. Guzman Lopez had been moved up from the bronze medal match after losing to Phogat in the semifinals.
“It was a surreal experience,” said Hildebrandt. “I was celebrating thinking I’d won, and then suddenly, I was told I still had to fight. It was like being told, ‘You didn’t win yet!’ I had to mentally reset for the final match.”
Hildebrandt eventually secured the gold with a 3-0 victory over Guzman Lopez, becoming the fourth American woman to win a wrestling gold medal. Reflecting on Phogat’s situation, she expressed empathy, acknowledging the challenges of weight management in wrestling.
“As someone who also cuts a significant amount of weight, I truly feel for her,” Hildebrandt said. “She had an incredible performance and to have it end like this must be devastating. My heart goes out to her. She’s a fantastic wrestler and competitor.”
Weight cutting is a common practice in wrestling, where athletes often compete in lower weight categories to gain a strength advantage. Unfortunately, Vinesh Phogat, despite her efforts—including drastic measures like cutting her hair—couldn’t shed the extra weight and was disqualified. Phogat, who had a standout performance earlier by defeating the defending Olympic champion, would have been the first Indian woman to vie for an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.
Phogat’s disqualification meant she left the Olympics without a medal, while Susaki, who lost to Phogat, ended up winning bronze.
Hildebrandt described the day as the most intense of her wrestling career, surpassing even the stress of a previous power outage during a championship match in Tokyo.
The controversy surrounding weight cutting has led to calls for additional weight classes and highlighted the risks involved in the practice, as discussed by United World Wrestling.
