Peoples Dispatch
Cuba’s Mijaín López has just conquered a milestone that will probably be impossible to surpass, although in sport (almost) anything is possible. The best wrestler in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling won his fifth gold medal in five consecutive Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024) in the same individual discipline.
The greatness of this medal is not only due to the large number of gold medals won by López; in fact, other athletes have won more gold medals because the sports in which they participate allow them to win several gold medals in the same Olympic Games. For example, in Beijing 2008, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals (the most gold medals won by a single athlete in the same Olympic Games) because in swimming there are several events in which the same swimmer can participate, either individually or in teams.
However, in the case of Greco-Roman wrestling it is different because, apart from being an individual sport, the weight of the wrestler is taken into account, which means that a wrestler like López, who weighs 130 kilos, in the best case scenario, can only win one Olympic medal every four years.
In other words, the Cuban wrestler’s dominance in the Olympic Games for more than 16 years has been absolute, and this is his great feat: staying on top of the Olympic podium for so long. In this way, 41-year-old López, surpasses other great athletes who had managed to win a maximum of four gold medals in four consecutive Olympic Games in the same discipline, such as the aforementioned Michael Phelps (200 meters in different styles), Katie Ledecky (800 meters freestyle), Carl Lewis (long jump), Alfred Oerter (discus throw), Paul Elvstrom (sailing), and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
López, nicknamed “the Giant of Herradura”, demonstrated throughout Paris 2024 his mastery of the wrestling mat. Thanks to a combination of strength and speed, López always remained the favorite, although some people doubted his ability due to his age. In this regard, he said in March “I’m going to repeat [the gold medal]… It’s just a matter of training hard and everything will work out as usual.”
As if it were the script of a Hollywood movie, López faced in the final his former national teammate, Yasmani Acosta, who in 2017 decided to leave the Cuban wrestling team to become a Chilean national. But having practiced with López for several years did Acosta little good. While dozens of supporters chanted “López, López!”, the Cuban wrestler soundly defeated the nationalized-Chilean by a score of 6-0.
At the end of the bout, López made a symbolic gesture that deeply moved his coaches and several spectators: he took off his shoes and left them in the middle of the Champ-de-Mars Arena where he won his last gold medal while he waved goodbye to the audience. In this way, López retires from the Olympic Games on a high note affirming the greatness of Cuban sport which, despite all the economic difficulties as a result of the US economic blockade, conquers a record that enters the annals of history as one of the greatest of all times.
Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch
The greatness of this medal is not only due to the large number of gold medals won by López; in fact, other athletes have won more gold medals because the sports in which they participate allow them to win several gold medals in the same Olympic Games. For example, in Beijing 2008, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals (the most gold medals won by a single athlete in the same Olympic Games) because in swimming there are several events in which the same swimmer can participate, either individually or in teams.
However, in the case of Greco-Roman wrestling it is different because, apart from being an individual sport, the weight of the wrestler is taken into account, which means that a wrestler like López, who weighs 130 kilos, in the best case scenario, can only win one Olympic medal every four years.
In other words, the Cuban wrestler’s dominance in the Olympic Games for more than 16 years has been absolute, and this is his great feat: staying on top of the Olympic podium for so long. In this way, 41-year-old López, surpasses other great athletes who had managed to win a maximum of four gold medals in four consecutive Olympic Games in the same discipline, such as the aforementioned Michael Phelps (200 meters in different styles), Katie Ledecky (800 meters freestyle), Carl Lewis (long jump), Alfred Oerter (discus throw), Paul Elvstrom (sailing), and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
López, nicknamed “the Giant of Herradura”, demonstrated throughout Paris 2024 his mastery of the wrestling mat. Thanks to a combination of strength and speed, López always remained the favorite, although some people doubted his ability due to his age. In this regard, he said in March “I’m going to repeat [the gold medal]… It’s just a matter of training hard and everything will work out as usual.”
As if it were the script of a Hollywood movie, López faced in the final his former national teammate, Yasmani Acosta, who in 2017 decided to leave the Cuban wrestling team to become a Chilean national. But having practiced with López for several years did Acosta little good. While dozens of supporters chanted “López, López!”, the Cuban wrestler soundly defeated the nationalized-Chilean by a score of 6-0.
At the end of the bout, López made a symbolic gesture that deeply moved his coaches and several spectators: he took off his shoes and left them in the middle of the Champ-de-Mars Arena where he won his last gold medal while he waved goodbye to the audience. In this way, López retires from the Olympic Games on a high note affirming the greatness of Cuban sport which, despite all the economic difficulties as a result of the US economic blockade, conquers a record that enters the annals of history as one of the greatest of all times.
Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch
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