Olympics: ‘Living legend’: Mijain Lopez becomes first Olympian to win same event five consecutive times
One of the great Olympic careers is finally over after Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez became the first athlete to win five consecutive gold medals in the same event, eclipsing the likes of Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps.
Phelps won the 200m medley in every Olympics between Athen 2004 and Rio 2016, while Carl Lewis won the long jump in every Games between 1984 in LA and Atlanta 1996.
American swimmer Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle between 2012 and 2024), discus thrower Al Oerter (1956-1968), Danish sailor Paul Elvstrom (1948-1960) and wrestler Kaori Icho (2004-2016) at the others locked on four.
But Lopez, who turns 42 in two weeks, has claimed the heaviest weight (120kg in Beijing and London, 130kg since Rio) with an absurd record.
After placing fifth in Athens 2004, Lopez outscored his opponents 98-5, celebrating his fifth gold medal with a 6-0 win over Chile’s Yasmani Acosta in the final.
Lopez had retired after the Tokyo Games but returned after three years out of the sport, where he suffered four herniated discs, to claim his final triumph.
After defeating Iranian world champion Amin Mirzazadeh in the quarterfinals, Lopez gave up just one more point in the semis and final to complete his historic feat.
When asked to describe each Games success, he said: “Beijing - youth; London - transcendence, Rio - effort; Tokyo - sacrifice; Paris - joy.”
“To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things,” he added.
In six Olympic appearances, Lopez now has 22 victories against just one defeat which came in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Athens Games.
“He is not very interested in glory. He does this for the love of his sport, for his pleasure,” Lopez’s coach Raul Trujillo told AFP.
“If God gave him the opportunity to be the greatest in history, why not take advantage of it?”
Lopez received a standing ovation from the crowd on Tuesday before the legend placed his shoes in the middle of the mat, a tradition for retiring wrestlers.
“We have to make room for the young people who are coming through to ensure continuity,” he had said Monday after qualifying for the final.
“Wrestling has been the love of my life, for all of my life.”
The historic feat left plenty of fans stunned.
Ex-WWE and Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle posted: “I usually don’t discuss athletes outside the USA but this guy did something nobody in history ever did. He’s won 5 gold medals in 5 different Olympics. Mijain Lopez!!! 41 years of age and STILL the best wrestler in the world.”
Eurosport commented: “What a boss.”
SportsCentre tweeted: “A fairytale ending to one of the most dominant Olympic careers.”
Journalist Ollie Vargas wrote: “Cuban wrestler Mijaín Lopez wins gold. The first ever athlete - of any sport - to win five consecutive gold medals. Living legend.”
Acosta, 36, who recently switched allegiance to Chile as federation rules allow just one wrestler per nation to enter each category at the Olympics, described Lopez as a “legend worldwide”.
“He’s a rival, but also a friend. We have known each other for a long time now. We did the trials together for this year’s Olympic Games,” said Acosta.
“He has been giving me advice in every phase, so he’s everything, a rival, a friend, he’s a brother.”
The two men found time for a friendly chat just before the final got underway.
“I asked him, as a joke, if he had any advice to give me before the final. He responded, ‘What do you mean? The final is against me.’ But at the end, he just wished me a good match.”
