Cuba's Mijain Lopez wins fifth consecutive Olympic wrestling gold

Field Level Media|published: Tue 6th August, 15:57 2024

Mijain Lopez Nunez (Cuba) during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Champ-de-Mars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS -- Japan's Kenichiro Fumita claimed the first wrestling gold of the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, winning the men's 60kg Greco-Roman event as Cao Liguo of China took silver.

Zholaman Sharshenbekov of Kazakhstan and North Korean Ri Se-ung claimed bronze in the event.

Cuba's Mijain Lopez, 41, won the men's 130kg gold by beating Chile's Yasmani Acosta Fernandez in the final. Lopez, unbeaten since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, won the gold medal for a fifth consecutive Olympics.

"I know some were skeptical, but I was ready for this," Lopez said.

The 6-0 win made Lopez the first athlete ever in any sport to win gold in the same individual Olympic event five times. Wilfried Dietrich (Germany) is tied with Lopez for the most Olympic wrestling medals with five total.

Before he left the mat, he left his shoes behind, signaling his retirement from the sport.

Iran's Amin Mirzazadeh and Meng Lingzhe of China won bronze.

--Reuters, Special to Field Level Media

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