Greco-Roman wrestler Mijain Lopez becomes first Olympian to win gold in 5 consecutive games

PARIS (AP) — Mijain Lopez has gone out on high.

The 41-year-old Cuban defeated Yasmani Acosta Fernandez of Chile 6-0 within the 130-kilogram closing on the Paris Olympics on Tuesday to win his fifth consecutive gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. He’s the primary Olympic athlete to win gold in any occasion at 5 consecutive Video games and the primary wrestler to win 5 gold medals.

Following the match, he positioned his footwear within the middle of the mat, symbolizing his retirement. Lopez first appeared on the Summer season Olympics in 2004, when he completed fifth.

Shortly after successful this gold medal, Lopez embraced Acosta Fernandez, a Cuban who moved to Chile to offer himself a greater likelihood of competing within the huge occasions. Acosta Fernandez is the primary wrestling medalist for Chile.

As Lopez continued to have fun, jubilant followers clapped in unison because the track “Candy Desires (Are Fabricated from This)” by the Eurythmics blared over the sound system. Lopez then dropped to all fours, stood briefly, then started to unlace his footwear as the gang cheered. Lopez had stated Monday that he would retire, saying there wanted to be room for brand spanking new faces within the sport.

After he eliminated his footwear, he held each arms within the air and acknowledged the followers once more.

On the final Olympics, Lopez grew to become the primary male wrestler to win 4 gold medals when he dominated in Tokyo, blowing by the sphere unscored upon in 4 matches. He gave up two factors in 4 matches this time.

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AP Summer season Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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