On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Cuban wrestler Mijaín López became the first athlete in any sport to win a fifth Olympic title in the same discipline in five different editions of the Olympic Games. At 41, he became the most decorated Olympic champion of all time.
A legend at the top of Olympus. This Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Cuban wrestler Mijaín López entered the annals of the Olympic Games by becoming, at almost 42 years old, the first athlete to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event. He is the first athlete to achieve this feat in the history of the Games.
Defeating Chilean Yasmani Acosta (6-0) in the final of the 130 kg premier category in Greco-Roman wrestling, he did better than the four consecutive titles of Americans Carl Lewis, the medalist in the long jump, Michael Phelps, the swimmer rewarded in the 200m medley, swimmer Katie Ledecky, medalist in the 800m freestyle and Alfred Oerter, rewarded in the discus. He also passed in front of Dane Paul Elvstrom, crowned for his exploits in sailing and in front of Japanese wrestler Kaori Icho.
“We must make room for young people”
A true living legend of his sport, Cuban wrestler Mijaín López announced his retirement after the Tokyo Games but came out for the Paris 2024 Games. A good decision, because he became the sole holder of this record, requiring exceptional longevity at the highest level.
Protected by his team members, the Cuban colossus, who will celebrate his 42nd birthday on August 20, had disappeared from competitions for three years. But his impressive performance in Paris allowed him to eliminate the reigning world champion, Iranian Amin Mirzazadeh, in the quarter-finals, who won the bronze medal in the Olympic event.
His victim in the final, Yasmani Acosta, is a Cuban who has been naturalized as a Chilean to have a chance to participate in the Olympic Games, where each country is only allowed one representative per category. His tormentor had announced on Monday, August 5, after his qualification for the final, that the fight would be the last of his immense career. Ready to retire, Mijaín López has, in six participations in the Olympic Games, 22 victories for a single defeat in the quarter-finals in Athens in 2004.against the Russian Khasan Baroyev, who became Olympic champion.
“We need to make room for the young people who are coming, to ensure continuity”he declared on France Télévisions. Ovulated by the Arena Champ-de-Mars, he left his pair of shoes in the middle of the mat at the end of the final. A tradition for wrestlers who are retiring.
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