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.
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.
After winning his fifth gold medal in his fifth consecutive Olympic games, Cuba's Mijaín López left his shoes on the mat to signify his retirement from the sport 👏
An Olympic legend leaving the sport on top 💪 pic.twitter.com/UR55ASvO5X
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 6, 2024
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.
Cuba’s Mijaín López leaves his shoes on the mat after winning his 5th Olympic Wrestling Gold Medal!
5 Olympic gold medals in wrestling is insane 🤯
2008 Beijing🥇(120kg)
2012 London🥇(120kg)
2016 Rio🥇(130kg)
2020 Tokyo🥇(130kg)
2024 Paris🥇(130kg)pic.twitter.com/Mnh4wgp6Fc— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) August 6, 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.
Wow, Cuban 🇨🇺 wrestling legend Mijaín López retired after winning his fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal! Swipe to read about his incredible legacy. ➡️ #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/EvNWDhAO2t
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 7, 2024
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."
Been lucky enough the last 10 years to call most big moments in Mijain Lopez’ career. On Monday I get to call him for a 3rd Summer Olympic as the greatest Greco wrestler ever looks to make history at #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/rqGVOpbhlo
— Rodrigo Del Campo González (@RodDelCampo) August 4, 2024
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."
🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇Nem Phelps na natação, nem Usain Bolt no atletismo, nem Simone Biles na ginástica.
O único atleta a ganhar 5 medalhas de ouro na mesma modalidade, na história dos Jogos Olímpicos, é o lutador cubano:
🇨🇺 MIJAÍN LÓPEZ
O melhor atleta olímpico da história. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/A3PWExn0V0
— ivan ☭ 🇻🇪 🇵🇸 (@ivantuita) August 8, 2024