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USA wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt won the gold medal in women's wrestling 50 kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympics yesterday. Initially, she was supposed to take on India's Vinesh Phogat in the gold-medal match, but Vinesh got disqualified after she was overweight on the morning of the final.
Sarah assumed that she would directly be awarded the gold medal after her opponent was unable to compete. Hence, the American wrestler was overjoyed after hearing the news.
"I was prepared for chaos, but that was not on my bingo card of chaos. (Vinesh) wasn't at weigh-ins, so I was in my head like, 'Oh my gosh, this might be a possibility.' Then, we get the news that she didn't make weight, and we were under the impression that it was a forfeit. So, there was a lot of celebrating," Sarah was quoted as saying by PTI.
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It is pertinent to note that the IOC did not award the gold medal to Sarah Hildebrandt directly. Instead, she had to play against Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman Lopez in the final. Lopez had lost against Vinesh Phogat in the semifinals.
"I took a nap, woke up, and it was like a fever dream" - Sarah Hildebrandt shares details of her experience on final day
As mentioned earlier, Sarah Hildebrandt assumed that the IOC would straightaway hand her the gold medal. However, she had to face Lopez in the final eventually. Sharing her feelings about the same, she continued:
"It was very strange, like 'Oh my god, I just won the Olympics.' Then an hour later, they were like, 'You did not win the Olympics.' I'm like, 'Oh, this is very weird.' So there had to be a reset. I took a nap, woke up, and it was like a fever dream."
Ultimately, Sarah Hildebrandt won the gold medal with a 3-0 win in the final against Lopez. Yui Susaki, whom Vinesh Phogat had defeated in the first round, won bronze medal via repechage, while the other bronze medal went to China's Feng Ziqi, who beat Otgonjargal Dolgorjavyn in the final of repechage round.
