Cuba celebrates as Mijain Lopez wins unprecedented Olympic gold
Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez etched his name in Olympic history by becoming the first athlete to win five consecutive individual Olympic gold medals in the same event.
On Tuesday, August 6, Lopez triumphed over Chile's Yasmani Acosta in the 130kg Greco-Roman final at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics.
Lopez's victory was celebrated in his hometown of Herradura, located in the Pinar del Rio province, 140 kilometres from Havana. The town's residents took the day off to support their local hero, who had honed his wrestling skills on Herradura's dusty streets.
The soon-to-be 42-year-old athlete was cheered on by family members and friends, including his 66-year-old mother, Leonor Nunez.
Leonor Nunez, overwhelmed with emotion, shared her thoughts on her son's achievement. "There are two biggest challenges Mijain had to fight: his weight and his sport. When I saw him beat his weight, I just thought the second thing would be...as he says, he is 'The Invincible,' and no one will beat him," she told AFP.
Nunez also spoke about the unique challenge of facing Yasmani Acosta, a childhood friend who now represents Chile. "I told him that they are both Cuban, but that Yasmani represents Chile. They have been lifelong friends, so he should apologise off the mat, but on the mat, he has to win," she recounted.
Lopez's journey to this historic win came after a three-year absence from the mat due to retirement. He defeated world champion Amin Mirzazadeh in the quarter-finals before facing his “lifelong” friend Acosta to set the record.
Before his latest triumph, Lopez shared the record of four consecutive gold medals with legendary athletes like 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).
“The Giant of Herradura” has only lost one of his 23 Olympic contests. This defeat came in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Athens Games.
