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Mijaín López Núñez (born 20 August 1982) is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals (second highest, behind Aleksandr Karelin's twelve), and a five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer.[3] López was Cuba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and one of the country's flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.[4]
.jpg) López at the 2024 Summer Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mijaín López Núñez |
| Nickname(s) | The Kid, El Terrible, The Giant of Herradura |
| Born | 20 August 1982 Entronque de Herradura, Cuba |
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 131.5 kg (290 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Sport | Wrestling |
| Event | Greco-Roman |
| Club | Cerro Pelado |
| Coached by | Pedro Val |
Medal record | |
Upon winning the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 130 kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event.[5]
Career
editLópez has represented Cuba at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics in Athens, Beijing, and London, and was his country's flag bearer during the opening ceremonies in 2008 and 2012.[6] In 2004, he placed fifth, whereas in 2008 and 2012, he won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman 120 kg category.[7] At the 2016 Rio Games, López won Gold in the 130 kg category. He again won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games without losing a single point in the tournament, becoming the first male wrestler to win four Olympic gold medals, as well as only the fifth athlete to win four gold medals in the same individual event.[8] During the opening ceremony of the same Olympics, he also became the first Cuban representative to become the country’s flag bearer four times, breaking the tie between Teófilo Stevenson and himself.[9]
In 2016, López won his tenth gold medal at the national wrestling championships of Cuba.[10]
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, López won his fifth gold medal, becoming the first Olympic athlete in any sport to win five gold medals in the same individual event. He subsequently left his wrestling shoes in the center of the mat after his victory, signifying his retirement from the sport.[11]
International competition record
edit- In the 2004 Olympics he placed fifth in the 120 kg weight class in Athens.
- In the 2008 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 24-3 in the 120 kg weight class in Beijing.
- In the 2012 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 14-0 in the 120 kg weight class in London.
- In the 2016 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 16-0 in the 130 kg weight class in Rio de Janeiro.
- In the 2020 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 24-0 in the 130 kg weight class in Tokyo.
- In the 2024 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 20-2 in the 130 kg weight class in Paris.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Details of the 130 kg division Greco-Roman event at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 2014". iat.uni-leipzig.de.[dead link]
- ^ "Details of the 130 kg division Greco-Roman event at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, November 2014". iat.uni-leipzig.de.[dead link]
- ^ "International Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ "MIJÁIN LÓPEZ E IDALYS ORTIZ, ABANDERADOS DE CUBA EN PARÍS 2024" (in Spanish). Olympics.com.es. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "Cuba's Mijaín López wins fifth gold, record in individual event". ESPN. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mijaín López". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
- ^ Brunt, Cliff (6 August 2024). "This Olympic wrestler just won his 5th straight gold, then he retired". wtsp.com. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Wrestler wins fourth straight Olympic gold". BBC Sport.
- ^ "The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Multicampeón Mijaín López logra su décimo título en Campeonato Nacional de Lucha". CiberCuba (in Spanish). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Schad, Tom. "A Cuban wrestler won his fifth straight Olympic gold and then immediately retired". USA TODAY. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Mijaín López Núñez profile". iat.uni-leipzig.de.[dead link]
External links
edit
- Mijain Lopez Nunez at United World Wrestling
- Mijain Lopez Nunez at the International Wrestling Database
- Mijaín López at Olympedia (archive)
- Mijain Lopez Nunez at Olympics.com
- Mijain Lopez Nunez at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
- Mijaín López at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games
