egendary Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez has made history once again.
Lopez won gold in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now, after three years away from competition, he has triumphed at Paris 2024. This marks his fifth consecutive gold medal in the superheavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling category.
In a stunning display of skill and strength, Lopez defeated Chile’s Acosta 6-0. As a final gesture to his illustrious career, he removed his shoes and left them on the mat, symbolizing his retirement.
The bronze medals went to Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran and Meng Lingzhe of China.
Lopez’s victory is historic as he now holds five straight Olympic gold medals in an individual event. This has never been done before in any individual Olympic event, summer or winter, by a man or woman.
With this victory, he surpasses the previous record of four consecutive individual Olympic golds, which he shared with Carl Lewis (long jump), Michael Phelps (200m medley), Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle), Al Oerter (discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing), and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
While Ireen Wüst set a record in 2022 by winning individual gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games, her medals came in two different events, not the same one. Lopez’s record stands unique with five consecutive golds in the same event.