Two decades after his debut at Athens 2004, Mijaín López closed the curtains on his unmatched Olympic career this Tuesday, and the emotion reached unexpected heights as he knelt down, placed his shoes in the center of the mat, and shed tears amidst a whirlwind of feelings.
In the bout that earned him his fifth gold medal in the Olympics, the "Giant of Herradura" displayed the demeanor of an invincible man, a tough guy, but his indomitable nature changed after the victory was declared over his compatriot Yasmani Acosta (6-0), representative of Chile and also a pride of the island.
With a slow gait, López, dressed in red and tight-fitting shorts, returned to competitive surface and gave a legendary farewell for the delight of the thousands of people present at the Champ de Mars Arena and the many more who watched him become the only athlete in history to win the same individual event five times under the shadow of the five rings.
To say Mijaín is to speak of a living legend, one of those chosen for glory. It is understandable that he is classified as the "GOAT" (the greatest of all time) of wrestling, because, in addition, he has accumulated five other universal titles and four in multi-sport competitions at the continental level.
They say that their only defeat in the Olympic Games occurred on the distant August 24, 2004, against the Russian Kashan Baroev. After that, there were only smiles and dances in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024. Unbeatable.
Lose the fear, say it. The Cuban is one of the best athletes in history. The results back it up. A man who arrived in France without fighting since 2021 and always seemed like the effort was on a stroll near the Eiffel Tower.
Los Ángeles 2028 will miss him... the Olympic Movement will miss him. Athletes of his caliber are not easily forgotten. And even the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, knows this, as he did not hesitate to approach him to congratulate him. He is the Michael Jordan of basketball; the Messi, the Pelé, or the Maradona of soccer; the Bolt of athletics; the Phelps of swimming...
At 41 years old, he left no room for doubt. He is still strong, just like always. But he has already said he won't continue, and his words are to be respected. It's time to gather the seats and bow: a king is saying goodbye.
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