Which rules matter? (published to InterMat)
If you missed it earlier this week, I wrote an article on InterMat about the J’Den Cox weigh-in situation at the Olympic Trials two weekends ago. Since it didn’t really fit here, I was happy to be able to publish it on InterMat.
Just before the Olympic Trials started in Fort Worth, news began to ripple through the crowd that J’den Cox had missed weight and would not compete in the tournament. As a returning medalist at the non-Olympic weight of 92kg, Cox had a bye into the semifinals at 97kg. Many had anticipated a Saturday night matchup between Cox, a two-time world champion and 86kg Olympic medalist, and Kyle Snyder, the defending Olympic champion at 97kg and a two-time world champion.
As more information became public, it emerged that Cox claimed he was told the wrong weigh-in time by his coach, USA Wrestling National Freestyle Developmental Coach Kevin Jackson. Weigh-ins ended at 8:00am, but Cox did not make weight until 8:13am, according to published reports. The tournament committee met and decided that Cox could not enter, since he did not make weight in the time allotted. (Quick aside: international weigh-ins work differently than college. In college, wrestlers must be in the weigh-in area when the weigh-in begins or they cannot weigh in. Internationally, there is a weigh-in window, and wrestlers can come at any time during that window. The window ends two hours before wrestling begins.)