Mijaín López

Mijaín López

López at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Mijaín López Núñez
Nicknames	The Kid, El Terrible, The Giant of Herradura
Born	(1982-08-20) 20 August 1982 Entronque de Herradura, Cuba
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	131.5 kg (290 lb)
Sport
Country	Cuba
Sport	Wrestling
Event	Greco-Roman
Club	Cerro Pelado
Coached by	Pedro Val
Medal record Men's wrestling Representing Cuba Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 5 0 0 World Championship 5 3 0 World Cup 3 0 0 World University Championship 1 0 0 Pan American Games 5 0 0 Central American and Caribbean Games 3 0 0 Pan American Championship 9 1 0 Grand Prix Ivan Poddubny 0 0 1 Junior Pan American Wrestling Championship 2 0 0 Total 33 4 1 Men's Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic Games 2008 Beijing 120 kg 2012 London 120 kg 2016 Rio de Janeiro 130 kg 2020 Tokyo 130 kg 2024 Paris 130 kg World Championships 2005 Budapest 120 kg 2007 Baku 120 kg 2009 Herning 120 kg 2010 Moscow 120 kg 2014 Tashkent 130 kg 2006 Guangzhou 120 kg 2011 Istanbul 120 kg 2015 Las Vegas 130 kg World Cup 2005 Tehran 120 kg 2006 Budapest 120 kg 2009 Clermont-Ferrand 120 kg World University Championships 2005 Izmir 120 kg Pan American Games 2003 Santo Domingo 120 kg 2007 Rio de Janeiro 120 kg 2011 Guadalajara 120 kg 2015 Toronto 130 kg 2019 Lima 130 kg Central American and Caribbean Games 2014 San Juan 130 kg 2014 Veracruz 130 kg 2018 Barranquilla 130 kg Pan American Championships 2002 Maracaibo 120 kg 2004 Guatemala City 120 kg 2005 Guatemala City 120 kg 2006 Rio de Janeiro 120 kg 2007 San Salvador 120 kg 2008 Colorado Springs 120 kg 2009 Maracaibo 120 kg 2012 Colorado Springs 120 kg 2014 Mexico City 130 kg 2003 Guatemala City 120 kg Junior Pan American Championships 2002 Bogota 120 kg Men's freestyle wrestling Junior Pan American Championships 2002 Bogota 120 kg

Mijaín López Núñez (born 20 August 1982) is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals (second highest, behind Aleksandr Karelin's twelve), and a five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer. López was Cuba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and one of the country's flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Upon winning the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 130 kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event.

Career

López has represented Cuba at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics in Athens, Beijing, and London, and was his country's flag bearer during the opening ceremonies in 2008 and 2012. In 2004, he placed fifth, whereas in 2008 and 2012, he won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman 120 kg category. At the 2016 Rio Games, López won Gold in the 130 kg category. He again won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games without losing a single point in the tournament, becoming the first male wrestler to win four Olympic gold medals, as well as only the fifth athlete to win four gold medals in the same individual event. During the opening ceremony of the same Olympics, he also became the first Cuban representative to become the country’s flag bearer four times, breaking the tie between Teófilo Stevenson and himself.

In 2016, López won his tenth gold medal at the national wrestling championships of Cuba.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, López won his fifth gold medal, becoming the first Olympic athlete in any sport to win five gold medals in the same individual event. He subsequently left his wrestling shoes in the center of the mat after his victory, signifying his retirement from the sport.

International competition record

World Championships

• In the 2005 World Championships he won the gold medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 52-0 up to the final, before winning the final 7-1 vs Mihaly deak-bardos (HUN), in Budapest (Hungary).
• In the 2006 World Wrestling Championships he won the silver medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 40-0 up to the final, before losing the final 0-12 vs Khasan Baroev (RUS), in Guangzhou (China).
• In the 2007 World Wrestling Championships he won the gold medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 49-9 up to the final, before winning the final 2-2 vs Khasan Baroev (RUS), in Baku (Azerbaijan).
• In the 2009 World Wrestling Championships he won the gold medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 25-0 up to the final, before winning the final 6-1 vs Dremiel Byers (USA), in Herning (Denmark).
• In the 2010 World Wrestling Championships he won the gold medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 21-0 up to the final, before winning the final 4-0 vs Yury Patrikeyev (ARM), in Moscow (Russia).
• In the 2011 World Wrestling Championships he won the silver medal in the 120 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 16-0 up to the final, before losing the final 0-4 vs Rıza Kayaalp (TUR), in Istanbul (Turkey).
• In the 2014 World Wrestling Championships he won the gold medal in the 130 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 25-2 up to the final, before winning the final 2-0 vs Rıza Kayaalp (TUR), in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
• In the 2015 World Wrestling Championships he won the silver medal in the 130 kg weight class, outscoring his opponents 15-1 up to the final, before losing the final 0-4 vs Rıza Kayaalp (TUR), in Las Vegas (United States).

Olympic Games

• In the 2004 Olympics he placed fifth in the 120 kg weight class in Athens.
• In the 2008 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 24-3 in the 120 kg weight class in Beijing.
• In the 2012 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 14-0 in the 120 kg weight class in London.
• In the 2016 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 16-0 in the 130 kg weight class in Rio de Janeiro.
• In the 2020 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 24-0 in the 130 kg weight class in Tokyo.
• In the 2024 Olympics he won the gold medal, outscoring his opponents 20-2 in the 130 kg weight class in Paris.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event

External links

• Mijain Lopez Nunez at United World Wrestling
• Mijain Lopez Nunez at the International Wrestling Database
• Mijain Lopez Nunez at Olympics.com
• Mijaín López at Olympedia
• Mijaín López at InterSportStats
• Mijaín López at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games (archived, alternate link)
• Mijaín López on Instagram