Sarah Hildebrandt to face Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez in the women's 50kg finals at Paris Olympics after opponent Vinesh Phogat gets disqualified

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Aug 07, 2024 08:51 GMT

Sarah Hildebrandt will face Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez in the women's wrestling in the 50kg weight class at the Paris Olympics after her opponent Vinesh Phogat was disqualified as she failed to make the weight ahead of the gold medal match scheduled to be held at the Champ-de-mars arena.

After Vinesh Phogat defeated No.1 seed Yui Susaki in the quarterfinals, she was considered to be one of the top prospects to compete for the podium at the Paris Olympics. However, according to reports Vinesh Phogat missed the weight qualification by approximately 100 grams leading to her disqualification from the finals. The Indian Olympic Association released an official statement about her disqualification and said:

"It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand."

Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez lost to Vinesh Phogat in the semi-finals of the women's 50kg freestyle with a score of 0-5. However, after Phogat was disqualified the governing body released an official notice stating that Guzmán would be competing against Sarah Hildebrandt in the gold medal match.

Olympics official communications

After winning the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, it was the American wrestler's first chance at Olympic Glory in Paris. Sarah Hildebrandt had put forward dominant performances in her matches at the Paris Olympics and marched to the gold medal match after a 5-0 win against Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal of Mongolia.

Sarah Hildebrandt on her preparations for the Paris Olympics

Sarah Hildebrandt during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - Source: Getty

Sarah Hildebrandt spoke to USA Wrestling about the changes that she had incorporated while training for the Paris Olympics. The American wrestler revealed that she decided to focus more on the mental aspect of wrestling as she was heading for her second consecutive Olympic campaign.

“The mental, sports psychology, side of it has been the biggest game changer for me and really, the last three years, that’s where I have spent the majority of my time.At this level, everyone works hard, everyone goes to practice, everyone lifts weights. I truly believe where I will find the biggest edge is in my mental preparation,” she said.

Other than that, Hildebrandt revealed that she has learned to bring about instantaneous changes to her strategies while competing rather than sticking to a standard game plan.