Olympics

41-Year-Old Cuban Wrestler Mijaín López Retires After Winning His Fifth Consecutive Olympic Gold Medal

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Mijain Lopez grew up in a small town in western Cuba, and despite his humble beginnings, he has gone on to have one of the most illustrious careers in the sport of wrestling.

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After winning 6-0 in the gold medal match vs. his long-time training partner Chile's Yasmani Acosta (130-kg), Lopez made history in the Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling final at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris.

With this recent victory, at 41 years old (two weeks away from his 42nd birthday), Lopez is the oldest wrestler to reach the podium at the Olympics, as he also more incredibly became the first athlete in history to win five gold medals in the same event.

Since competing at the 2008 Beijing Games, Lopez has gone on to win all 20 of his Olympic matches, accumulating five gold medals along the way.

Ultimately, this will be the last time that the world will be able to witness the legendary wrestler competing in the Olympics, as he announced his retirement by taking off his shoes and putting them on the mat.

To note, Lopez joined the Cuban national team at the age of 17 years old and made his Olympic debut in the 120kg individual wrestling competition in 2008, winning back-to-back in 2012, and then remained unbeaten while moving up to the 130kg weight class in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Lopez's legendary career will live on, a hero in his home country, as he now joins Ramon Fonst in being a five-time medalist, which is a record that stood for 120 years. To point out, as a fencer, Fonst won five medals during his participation in the 1900 Paris Games and 1904 St. Louis Games.

In view of the greatest Olympic wrestlers throughout time, there may never be another who can accomplish the feat of five consecutive gold medals, as Lopez is the epitome of longevity, masterful skill, and sheer dominance... his legacy will never be forgotten.

After walking away from leaving his shoes on the mat, Lopez explained what it felt like to finish his career in such historical fashion.

"I felt a little sad... It is as if you have left a part of your life there. From a very early age, I was doing this sport. A sport that has made me known worldwide. I left a dream on the mat, but a dream that will inspire all young people."

Ultimately, those shoes will be impossible to fill, but there will be many more young athletes who look up to Lopez, for he's demonstrated that hard work and determination can lead to accomplishing your goals, no matter one's background, even for a kid from Herradura, Cuba... anything is possible, never give up.

"The legacy that I want to leave to all the young people who follow me is to always fight for what they want to achieve," Lopez said. "There are no goals, there is no age, there are no purposes in life that cannot be achieved."

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