Paris 2024: Who is Mijain Lopez Nunez, the first ever five-time Olympic Champion. What is Greco-roman wrestling?
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Published 07/08/2024 at 06:40 GMT+1
Mijain Lopez Nunez has become the first ever athlete to win five gold medals across five Olympic Games. Nunez first won gold in the Greco-Roman Wrestling in Beijing 2008, the Cuban then backed up that victory across five Olympics to become the first ever athlete to win gold at five separate Summer Games. He then left his shoes in the ring which is known to symbolise a wrestler’s retirement.
'Immortal' 41-year-old Lopez Nunez wins incredible fifth consecutive gold
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mijain Lopez Nunez has become the first ever Olympic athlete to win gold at five separate Olympic Games in the same event.
The 41-year-old Cuban rewrote the history books after winning his fifth consecutive Olympic gold in the Greco-Roman Wrestling.
Taking off his shoes and leaving them in the ring, he celebrated his victory. It is widely known that if a wrestler leaves their shoes in the ring it symbolises their retirement.
Ahead of his match in the finals he reportedly told the Guardian, after the final "I will finish," suggesting that he may retire after becoming arguably the greatest Olympian with an Olympic career spanning 16 years.
Mijain Lopez Nunez, who made his Olympic debut at the age of 25, won his fifth consecutive gold on Tuesday where he celebrated by kissing the mat and leaving his shoes behind.
He told the Paris 2024 Olympic Games website: "It is as if you have left a part of your life there. From a very early age, I was doing this sport. A sport that has made me known worldwide. I left a dream on the mat, but a dream that will inspire all young people."
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The 41-year-old faced Chile's Yasmani Acosta in the gold medal match, Nunez finished with a clean sheet going 6-0 to be crowned champion in the Greco-Roman Men's 130kg.
Whilst many Olympic athletes such as Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Sir Mo Farah have earned a collection of gold medals across different Olympic games, they have had to do so by competing in multiple events.
Sir Mo Farah, for example, won gold in both the 10,000m and 5,000m at the London Olympic Games in 2012 and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Whereas Nunez secured gold in the same event at every single Olympic Games, a feat that has never been achieved by any Olympian in history.
Nunez wasn't the only one to celebrate after his win, his competitor Yasmani Acosta, made history as he became the first ever Chilean wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
What is Greco-Roman Wrestling?
Greco-Roman wrestling is one of the oldest sports to feature at the Olympic Games, it was first introduced to the modern Summer Games in Athens in 1896. Since 1908 it has featured in all Olympic Games and is still a regular fixture to this day.
There are six weight categories at the Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling from 60kg all the way up to 130kg. This allows a wide range of wrestlers to take part in the sport. Â
The objective of Greco-Roman wrestling is to simply pin the opponent to the mat to win or to win more points in the allotted time. Each match is only 6 minutes long with a 30 second break at half time.
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PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 05: Mijain Lopez Nunez of Team Cuba (red) competes with Sabah Saleh Aze Shariati of Team Azerbaijan (blue) during the Wrestling Men's Greco Roman 130kg Semifinal on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Champs-de-Mars Arena on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Points are earned through executing moves and holds depending on their difficulty. The points over the two halves are added up and the wrestler with the highest score wins overall.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, you can only use holds on the upper body, below the waist is not allowed and they cannot use their legs to help them perform moves.
This makes Greco-Roman wrestling a demanding upper body sport, the wrestlers will need to use moves such as throws as they are not allowed to take their opponent down by shooting below the waist.
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