After making history, Cuban Mijain Lopez retires

The great Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez has done it again. Five straight superheavyweight Greco-Roman gold medals: Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024, after three years away from the Olympics. Lopez defeated Chilean Acosta 6-0 and left his shoes on the mat to formally retire. Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran and Meng Lingzhe of China won bronze. Lopez’s five straight Olympic gold medals in an individual event are historic. Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, Paris—never done in any Olympic event, summer or winter, men’s or women’s.

With his win, he broke a tie with Carl Lewis (long jump), Michael Phelps (200m medley), Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle), Al Oerter (discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing), and Kaori Icho (wrestling) for four consecutive Olympic golds. Ireen Wüst became the first athlete to win gold medals at five straight Olympic Games in 2022, however she won in two separate sports. She has three 1500m golds and two 3000m golds, although not as many as Lopez’s five.