A pair of Mongolian wrestling coaches who stripped – one down to his underwear – in protest during the Rio Olympics were handed three-year bans on Wednesday. The Mongolian federation will face no ban from competition but has been fined 50,000 Swiss Francs (£39,500).
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Tserenbaatar Tsogbayar and Byambarinchen Bayaraa will serve part of their suspensions retroactively.
Ganzorig escaped any punishment from United World Wrestling. It will end August 20, 2019.
The protest occurred shortly after Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran of Mongolia appeared set to defeat Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov in the 143-pound class.
Judges awarded Navruzov a penalty point in the closing seconds of the match after Tsogbayar celebrated too soon and danced around his opponent as the contest wound down.
Their protest earned them headlines around the world and accolades in their home country, where stripping is an accepted form of peaceful protest.
Ganzorig’s camp let their feelings be known in no uncertain terms, with clothes and shoes removed by the coaches and screams of fury hurled in the direction of the judges at Carioca Arena 2 in an almighty commotion.
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Now, the global wrestling federation has banned Tserenbaatar Tsogbayar and Byambarenchen Bayaraa from worldwide competition for three years, according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press.
