Cuban Wrestler Lopez Becomes Olympic Legend
Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez has etched his name in Olympic history by becoming the first athlete ever to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event at the Games. The 42-year-old triumphed in the final of the 130 kg Greco-Roman wrestling category against Chilean Yasmani Acosta (6-0).
Lopez’s remarkable achievement surpasses the previous record of four consecutive titles held by legendary athletes such as Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Alfred Oerter, Paul Elvstrom, and Kaori Icho.
Despite retiring after the Tokyo Games, Lopez returned to the mat to claim this unprecedented record. His impressive performance in Paris included eliminating the reigning world champion, Amin Mirzazadeh, en route to the final.
His opponent in the final, Acosta, is a Cuban who switched nationalities to compete in the Olympics, where each country is allowed only one representative per category.
Throughout his illustrious career, Lopez has only one defeat to his name – against Russian Khasan Baroyev in the 2004 Athens Games. The 40-something Lopez announced after qualifying for the final that this would be his last competition.
“We have to make way for the young ones coming in, to ensure continuity,” he stated. “Wrestling has been my whole life, wrestling has been the love of my life.”