Mongolian coaches strip in front of judges to protest bronze-medal controversy

THESE coaches wanted to protest the moment an athlete was stripped of a bronze medal. For some reason, they chose to jettison their clothes.

You have to feel for them.

WHEN it comes to memorable Olympic moments, the Mongolian wrestling coaches saved the best for last.

In one of the final events of the Rio Summer Games, Mongolian wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran was seconds away from winning the 65kg freestyle bronze medal match when he began prematurely celebrating his victory by running around the ring. His coaches then joined him on the mat, one carrying the flag of Mongolia.

Another protest in Rio.

It appeared that Mandakhnaran had won the match, 7-6. But as the Mongolian team celebrated, the judges awarded a penalty point to Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov, making him the winner of the contest.

That’s when things got interesting.

Controversy.

The two Mongolian coaches tried to challenge the call, but when the judges denied them, they started ripping their clothes off in protest of the call.

One coach stripped all the way down to his underwear, while the other just removed his shirt — and threw a stuffed animal towards the judges.

Picket line of sorts.

The coaches were then escorted out of the venue by Olympic officials.

It wasn’t so much the celebration that cost Mongolia the bronze medal, but the act of “failing to engage,” which is known in wrestling passivity, resulting in a point for the opponent.

Heartbreaking.

Since wrestling can’t end in a tie, the winner is determined by the last person who is awarded a point. So instead of winning 7-6, Mandakhnaran lost 8-7 — And everyone who saw the debacle won, by witnessing one of the best moments of the Summer Games.

Not something you see every day. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/ESYw60zEjv

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 21, 2016