Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López won his fifth straight gold medal in the 130kg category on Tuesday, August 6th in Paris, setting the kind of record that may never be broken. He did it by defeating fellow Cuban-born wrestler Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, now competing for Chile. Fernandez left his home country because he knew he would probably never make an Olympic team with Lopez ahead of him.
The score of the final fight was 6-0.
With the win, Lopez tied Germany’s Wilfried Dietrich for the most medals ever won in wrestling with five total, but became the first Olympic wrestler to win five golds. He also became the oldest medalist in Olympic wrestling history at 41. Ironically, Lopez is just a few weeks shy of his 42nd birthday. And to add to the list of incredible achievements, Lopez has also become the first athlete in any sport to win the same event five times.
After the match, Lopez announced his retirement by removing his shoes and leaving them in the center of the match – the wrestler’s way of retiring.
On top of his five Olympic gold medals, Lopez is also a five-time World Champion and three-time silver medalist at the World Championships of wrestling.
The internet celebrated Lopez’s achievements, with messages that went from: “Simply thank you, legend”
To: “MIJAÍN LÓPEZ DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!! HE ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE: 5 GOLD WINS IN A ROW! THE GREATEST OLYMPIC ATHLETE OF ALL TIME IS CUBAN!”
Everyone was celebrating him. “Mijain Lopez makes history! He is the first athlete to be a 5x Olympic gold medalist in the same event, and is also the oldest medalist in Olympic wrestling history at 41 years old. His journey is over, leaving his shoes on the mat and retiring. What a moment.”
And deservedly so. “5 straight Olympic gold medals for Cuban superheavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López. Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, Paris. Never been done before in an individual Olympic event, summer or winter, men’s or women’s. And he leaves his shoes on the mat to signal his retirement”