Olympics 2024 | Vinesh Phogat disqualified: How weight fluctuations affect wrestlers

Vinesh Phogat's heartbreaking disqualification from the Paris Olympics just a few hours prior to her scheduled gold medal match in the women's freestyle wrestling 50 kg category on Wednesday has left the country deeply shocked and saddened at the same time.

During her weigh-in before the finals, Phogat missed the mark by a mere 100 grams - which was enough to shatter the hopes of India's first gold medal victory in wrestling at the Olympics. The burden of 100 grams - the weight of an empty glass of water - was such that Phogat announced her retirement from the sport in an emotional post on 'X' earlier today.

With the country still reeling from Phogat's agonising exit from the Olympics, let's take a look at the science behind a wrestler's challenge of maintaining the perfect weight.

Grappling with weight

The majority of wrestlers find the weigh-in period quite taxing and challenging since they have to carefully monitor how much water and other fluids they consume to perform their best without gaining or losing weight as a result.

Typically, wrestlers need to shed a few kilograms of water and fluids in order to meet the weight requirements for their particular categories. Thus, in order to lose weight quickly, they usually engage in cardiovascular exercises like cycling and jogging before their bouts. Phogat left no stone unturned as she took desperate measures including dehydrating herself and cutting her hair short to meet the weight requirements - all unfortunately to no avail.

The toll on their body

They typically do this while wearing airtight suits or putting Vaseline on their bodies to increase perspiration. To make their bodies use up the stored glycogen, they also sometimes starve themselves the day before.

However, there is a price that the wrestlers have to pay for drastically minimising their food and fluids intake as they need them to keep their body fully energised. Before a fight, athletes would typically eat a meal high in carbohydrates to provide them the energy they need to perform. When on the edge, even small amounts of food, water, or even a restless night can make all the difference

The science involved

As can be understood, it is quite common for wrestlers to experience daily weight swings, which can range from 0.5 to 2.3 kg depending on number of factors such as food and hydration intake, bowel movements, and physical activity.

These daily fluctuations in their body weights, according to Vaibhav Daga, head of sports science and rehabilitation at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai, are generally transient and result from variations in water retention, glycogen storage, and other factors rather than real changes in muscle mass or body fat.