Mijaín López
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 López (left) at the 2009 World Championships | |
| 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 | |
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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, and five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer.[3] On 3 July 2024, he and the Cuban judoka Idalys Ortíz were designated as the flag bearers for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.[4]
Upon beating Yasmani Acosta of Chile in the 2024 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling 130 kg final, López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event.[5]
Career
[edit]López 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 both competitions, 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]
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 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.[10]
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
[edit]References
[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 from the United World Wrestling Database.
- ^ Details of the 130 kg division Greco-Roman event at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, November 2014 from the United World Wrestling Database.
- ^ "International Wrestling Database".
- ^ "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. 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.
- ^ "Cuba's Lopez wins 120 kg Greco-roman wrestling gold". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "Wrestler wins fourth straight Olympic gold". BBC Sport.
- ^ "The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ 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 available at the United World Wrestling Database.
External links
[edit]
- Mijaín López at United World Wrestling
- Mijaín López at the International Wrestling Database (alternate link)
- Mijaín López at Olympics.com
- Mijaín López at Olympedia
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- 1982 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Pinar del Río
- Cuban male sport wrestlers
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Olympic wrestlers for Cuba
- Olympic gold medalists for Cuba
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba
- Pan American Games medalists in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Wrestlers at the 2011 Pan American Games
- Wrestlers at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Wrestlers at the 2019 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games
- Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba
- Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in wrestling
- Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games
- Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games
- Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for Cuba
- 20th-century Cuban people
- 21st-century Cuban people
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Cuban Olympic medalist stubs
- Cuban sport wrestler stubs