TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist Lo Chia-ling ( 羅嘉翎) failed to make weight in the 57kg category at the U.S. Open (March 3-5), potentially complicating her chances to qualify for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

She failed by the slightest of margins, 0.1kg. Her coach thought a naked weigh in would allow her to overcome the weight discrepancy. In a desperate attempt to lose weight, Lo even cut her hair.

As time ran out for the weigh in, she was eventually disqualified. Lo’s coach, Liu Tsung-ta (劉聰達) posted on Facebook, apologizing for the matter and admitting he failed to fulfill his responsibility to supervise athletes.

Liu explained that the weigh in for the U.S. Open is quite short, lasting only two hours, from 10:00 to noon. He instructed Lo to report her weight at 7 a.m. when it was discovered she was 0.3 kg overweight. Liu then instructed her to go for a run.

Lo was still hopeful that she could pass the weight test if she shed her clothing, but at 11:45 a.m., the judges said she had to remain in underwear and shorts for the weigh in. By noon, there were no more chances to make the weight cut-off, making her trip to the U.S. a waste.

Her coach said that other international taekwondo competitions like a recent event held in China allow for a naked weigh-in. Lo is quite tall for a typical competitor in her weight class, standing at 190 cm, making weight qualifying quite difficult.

Lo still has a chance to compete and achieve Olympic qualification requirements in the upcoming Belgian Open Taekwondo and Dutch Open Taekwondo.