Wrestler Mijain Lopez puts Lewis, Phelps in shade with fifth successive Olympic gold / Photo: Luis ROBAYO - AFP
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Wrestler Mijain Lopez puts Lewis, Phelps in shade with fifth successive Olympic gold
Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez made Olympic history on Tuesday when he became the first athlete to win five consecutive individual gold medals in the same event.
Lopez, who turns 42 in two weeks' time, defeated Chile's Yasmani Acosta in the final of the 130kg Greco-Roman final.
With his victory, Lopez broke a tie for four successive individual Olympic golds he shared with Carl Lewis (athletics/long jump), Michael Phelps (swimming/200m medley), Katie Ledecky (swimming/800m freestyle), Al Oerter (athletics/discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and Kaori Icho (wrestling).
A legend of wrestling, Lopez had retired after the 2021 Tokyo Games before returning to the sport to achieve his landmark triumph.
Despite a three-year absence, Lopez stunned world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran in the quarter-finals in Paris.
Victory in the final on Tuesday may have been particularly sweet as it came against Cuban-born Acosta, now a naturalised Chilean.
In six Olympic appearances, Lopez now has 22 victories against just one defeat which came in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Games in Athens.
T.Schmidt--HHA
