Wrestler Mijain Lopez puts Lewis, Phelps in shade with fifth successive Olympic gold
Published : Thursday, 8 August, 2024 at 12:00 AM Count : 199
PARIS, AUG 7: Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez made Olympic history on Tuesday when he became the first athlete to win five consecutive individual golds in the same event, bettering the records of Games icons such as Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps.
Lopez, who turns 42 in two weeks' time, defeated fellow Cuban Yasmani Acosta, representing Chile, in the final of the 130kg Greco-Roman event.
With his victory, Lopez broke a tie for four successive individual Olympic golds he shared with Carl Lewis (athletics/long jump), Michael Phelps (swimming/200m medley), Katie Ledecky (swimming/800m freestyle), Al Oerter (athletics/discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
When asked to describe each Games success, he said: "Beijing - youth; London - transcendence, Rio - effort; Tokyo - sacrifice; Paris - joy."
"To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things," he added.
A legend of wrestling, Lopez had retired after the 2021 Tokyo Games before returning to the sport to achieve his landmark triumph.
Despite a three-year absence -- and having suffered four herniated discs -- Lopez stunned world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran in the quarter-finals in Paris.
Victory in the final on Tuesday was bittersweet as it came against close friend Acosta.
In six Olympic appearances, Lopez now has 22 victories against just one defeat which came in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Athens Games.
"He is not very interested in glory. He does this for the love of his sport, for his pleasure. If God gave him the opportunity to be the greatest in history, why not take advantage of it?" his coach Raul Trujillo told AFP.
Lopez received a standing ovation from the crowd on Tuesday before the legend placed his shoes in the middle of the mat, a tradition for retiring wrestlers. —AFP
