The Court of Arbitration For Sport (CAS) on Monday laid out a detailed verdict on three-time Olympian Vinesh Phogat’s plea for a joint-silver medal in the Women’s Freestyle 50kg category at the Paris 2024.
The Sole Arbitrator of the highest sporting court Annabelle Bennett mentioned that the consequences of the failed second weigh-in are draconian although there were no illegal acts involved in the matter, additionally, mentioning the factors explained by the applicant for the plea.
“The consequences of the failed second weigh-in, which do not arise from any illegal or wrongful act on the part of the Applicant are, in the opinion of the Sole Arbitrator, draconian,” one of the points in the report said. “A consequence of elimination without ranking from the round for which the Athlete was found ineligible, having been eligible for the rounds for which she competed, would seem to be a fairer solution.”
“There is no dispute that the Applicant failed the second weigh-in, in that her weight was in excess of the 50 kg limit. Her case is, in essence, that this is a small excess and can be explained by factors such as the menstrual cycle, water retention, the need to hydrate and insufficient time to reduce her weight by reason of the travel time to the Athlete’s Village,” the report added.
The verdict further mentions that the onus was on the applicant to maintain her weight as the same rules apply to all the Olympians, due to which Phogat was found ineligible to compete in the 50kg category final against American Sarah Hildebrandt.
“It is clearly up to an athlete to ensure that they remain below that limit. There is no discretion provided in the Rules, which the Sole Arbitrator is bound to apply. The Sole Arbitrator sees the force in the submissions that the consequences of failure of the second weigh-in should be restricted to ineligibility for the event that followed the second weigh-in, namely the finals, but unfortunately for the Applicant, this is not the consequence provided in the Rules,” the conclusion read.
