Mijaín López arrives in Paris in search of his fifth Olympic gold and confirms his retirement.

Full of confidence in his success, Cuban wrestler Mijaín López arrived in Paris this Thursday to face the challenge of winning his fifth crown in what will definitely be his last Olympic Games.

Champion of Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Tokyo 2020, the considered "GOAT" ("the greatest of all time") of Greco-Roman style expressed that he felt happy to be at the event venue and ready to compete on the upcoming day of August 5th.

"I will be on the mattresses to demonstrate once again that I can achieve the goal. Physically and mentally, I have always been prepared. All that remains is to arrive and do the things we have done," the gladiator stated to the press in comments published on the social media platform Facebook.

Regarding the possible match against the current world champion in the 130-kilogram category, the Iranian Amin Mohammadzaman Mirzazadeh, seen by some as the favorite, the muscular Caribbean athlete stated that he already defeated him in Japan and that experience will play a key role if the fight happens.

Other rivals to consider are the Egyptian Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed and the Estonian Heiki Nabi, who also seek to break the winning streak of the multiple world and Pan American champion.

For added intrigue, the prestigious sports magazine Sports Illustrated published its usual list of predictions, and one of the surprises is that it forecasted only a bronze medal for the legend.

Mijaín made his debut under the five rings in the 2004 Athens edition, from which he left in fifth place. Since then, only reigns have followed, as JIT recalls on the social network X and its website.

In fact, the pinareño confirmed that this will be his last competition at this level: "It is official that the time has come for me to retire. I have been in my career for many years, and it is time to rest and spend time with my family."

To fulfill the training plan, the Cuban delegation decided that López would not be the male flag bearer at the opening of the event, and his place was taken by the boxer Julio César La Cruz, who was eliminated in his debut in the 92 kilograms category.