The fight of the Cuban elite athlete Mijaín López for his fifth Olympic gold in Paris 2024 was a major event in his hometown, Herradura, in the province of Pinar del Río.
In a local ranchón, family, friends, neighbors, and local authorities gathered to watch the sporting event.
Everyone was excited by López's performance. They lived each second of the fight intensely. On their faces, the great joy they felt upon seeing the judge proclaim the victory of the five-time Olympic champion was evident.
López's only defeat in the Olympic Games was on August 24, 2004, against the Russian Kashan Baroev. After that experience, he only won gold medals in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, and he also won it in Paris 2024, on August 6.
It was especially emotional when Mijaín López took off his wrestling shoes, kissed the mat, and said goodbye to his audience, showing that he has reached the peak of his sports career and is ready to retire.
The final match was doubly emotional, as he had to face a friend and compatriot, the Cuban fighter Yasmani Acosta, who represented Chile.
Mijaín López defeated him with a score of 6-0. He was crowned as a five-time Olympic champion in a historic final in the 130 kilograms of Greco-Roman wrestling.
The narration of the event was also filled with many emotions. Journalist Evian Guerra recalled that Mijaín López is the only athlete in the world with five gold medals in the Olympic Games, all won consecutively in the same individual specialty.
He is also the oldest athlete to win an Olympic gold and is the athlete with the most Olympic medals in Cuba.
"We have witnessed one of the most important moments in Olympic sports. It has been done by a Cuban, a man from Herradura, from Pinar del Río, from Cuba. Pinar del Río is no longer just the land of the best tobacco in the world, it is also the land of the best wrestler in history," Guerra said emotionally.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under:
