After his most memorable victory, the gladiator looked out at the excited crowd, took off his slippers and placed them in the center of the arena.

His mission in life was accomplished. Mijaín López, the Cuban legend of Greco-Roman wrestling, became the first athlete in history to win five gold medals in five consecutive editions of the Olympic Games in the same individual event.

A few days before his 42nd birthday, “Terrible” López defeated Cuban-born Chilean Yasmani Acosta 6-0 in the 130-kilogram final, which took place on Tuesday on the mat at the Campo del Marte Arena.

“I’m happy to have reached the ecstasy of the Olympic elite,” said López after the victory. “The most important triumph in one’s career.” López won his first gold in Beijing 2008, and followed that up with victories in London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

With yesterday’s Olympic title, the Cuban gladiator surpassed other legends of the sport such as the Americans Michael Phelps (swimming), Carl Lewis (long jump) and Alfred Oerter (discus), as well as the Dane Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and the Japanese Kaori Icho (wrestling). His is also the first gold medal that Cuba has won in Paris.

The wrestler was born on August 20, 1982 in the small town of Herradura, in the western province of Pinar del Río, and began wrestling at the age of 10 because he liked rough sports and had the ideal physique for it.

At the start of the Olympic race in Athens 2004, López was left out of the medals.

Along with her Olympic glory, López also won five world titles and reigned in five Pan American Games, although she was absent from Santiago de Chile last year for personal reasons.

Unlike many of his compatriots who have left the island in recent years due to a severe economic crisis, Lopez is one of the great Cuban athletes who has never been tempted to leave the country for better offers.

“To achieve these results, one must first love one’s sport, love one’s professionalism and show the world that with little, great things can be achieved,” said López about the keys to his success despite the difficulties his country faces. “Sincerity and humility predominate in achieving these results.”

Regarding his future, Lopez said that he will dedicate himself to training new fighters. The desertions have caused a deterioration in the competitive level of the once-powerful Cuban machine.

His rival yesterday was one of them, although not for financial reasons.

Acosta, 36, grew tired of being in López’s shadow and began competing for Chile in 2017. In her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2021, she had taken bronze.

“It’s a mixture of many feelings, one always wants to win gold. But at the same time I’m happy because the legend of world wrestling retired with me,” said the defeated fighter. “He’s a rival, a friend, we prepared together for the Olympic Games. Part of this result is due to him.”

After Australia’s Arisa Trew scored 93.18 in her final run in the women’s park skateboarding competition yesterday, she knew she was headed for the podium.

The wait to see exactly where it would land was unbearable.

It was only when Japan’s Cocona Hiraki’s score of 92.63 came in at the end of the competition that 14-year-old Trew knew she would take home the gold.

“When I realized I had won, I was in shock, excited and happy,” she said.

At 14 years and 88 days, Trew became the youngest Australian to win a medal. The previous youngest was Sandra Morgan, who was 14 years and 184 days old, who won gold in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay in 1956.

Trew was in third place before executing an excellent third routine, highlighted by a 540, a trick with 11/2 rotations in the air, to jump into first place.

“On my first run, I landed on one of the tricks I had been landing forever,” he said. “So I knew it was all or nothing after that. And on my third run I had to secure my spot, so I just went all out.”

Hiraki led for two rounds after scoring a 91.98 on her first run, but had fallen to third place before her final chance. The 15-year-old responded with her best run of the day, a performance that had the crowd buzzing with each of her completed tricks.

Even younger

China’s Haohao Zheng, 11 years old and the youngest athlete at the Paris Games and one of the precocious in Olympic history, made her debut yesterday in the skateboarding event.

Haohao, who turns 12 on August 12, is the youngest Chinese Olympian in history.

The pre-teenager is outdone in her precocity by the man considered to be the youngest in the history of the Games, the Greek gymnast Dimitros Loundras, who participated at the age of 10 in the 1896 Olympic edition in Athens and won bronze in the team parallel bars.— EFE

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