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, breaking the Games records of Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps.
Lopez, who will turn 42 in two weeks, defeated fellow Cuban Yasmani Acosta, representing Chile, in the 130kg Greco-Roman final.
With his win, Lopez broke a tie for four consecutive individual Olympic golds that he shared with Carl Lewis (athletics/long jump), Michael Phelps (swimming/200m breaststroke), Katie Ledecky (swimming/800m freestyle), Al Oerter (track and field/discus) ), Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
When asked to describe the success of each Games, he said: “Beijing – youth; London – transcendence; Rio – effort; Tokyo – sacrifice; Paris – joy.”
“To achieve all these results, one has to love his sport, love his job and demonstrate to the world that great things can be achieved with so little,” he added.
Wrestling legend Lopez retired after the 2021 Tokyo Games before returning to the sport for his landmark triumph.
Despite a three-year absence – and four herniated discs – Lopez stunned world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran in the quarter-finals in Paris.
The win in the final on Tuesday was bittersweet because it came against close friend Acosta.
In six Olympic appearances, Lopez now has 22 wins against the only loss that came in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Athens Games.
“He doesn’t care much about fame. He does it for the love of his sport, for his pleasure. If God gave him the opportunity to be the greatest in history, why not take 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.
“We have to make room for young people to come through to ensure continuity,” he said on Monday after qualifying for the final.
“Wrestling has been the love of my life, all my life.
His record could be equaled in four years if the 27-year-old Ledecky decides to swim in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Acosta, 36, who recently switched allegiance to Chile because federation rules allow only one wrestler from each nation to enter each category at the Olympics, described Lopez as a “world legend”.
“He’s a rival but also a friend. We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve been training together for this year’s Olympics,” Acosta said.
“He has advised me at every stage, so he is everything, a rival, a friend, a brother.
Just before the start of the final, the two men found time for a friendly chat. “I jokingly asked him if he had any advice he could give me before the final. He said, ‘What do you mean? The final is against me.’ But in the end he just wished me a good match.”
