PARIS, France — Mijaín Lopez coasted to an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold medal with a dominant win in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling final at the Paris Olympics.
Lopez beat Chile's Yasmoni Acosta Fernandez 6-0 to secure the achievement. The 41-year-old wrestler became the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same event at five consecutive Olympic games. His fifth medal ties him with West Germany's Wilfried Dietrich for the most Olympic wrestling medals.
Lopez controlled the bout early and stayed consistent throughout the match. He earned three points in each period to take the win over Acosta Fernandez. He ceremoniously left his shoes on the mat after the match, signaling his retirement from the sport.
“I’ll be retiring, it’s over,” Lopez said to the Associated Press. “We need to make some space for those who are coming (into the sport). Wrestling for me has been the love of my life, for all of my life.”
Lopez's streak began at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He secured gold in 2012, 2016, and 2020 to set up Tuesday's monstrous feat.
Acosta, meanwhile, won Chile's first Olympic medal in wrestling. He was born in Cuba but left for Chile, partly because of Lopez's dominance in the sport. Tuesday's silver is the first Olympic medal for Acosta.
Lopez's impressive streak contributed to Cuba's nine-straight gold medals in wrestling events, which stretches back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
China's Meng Lingzhe and Azerbaijan's Sabah Shariati won the bronze medals in the event.
