Mijaín López

Mijaín López Núñez (born 20 August 1982) is a Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler. He is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, and five-time Pan American Games champion and is widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer.[3]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Núñez.
Mijaín López
López (left) at the 2009 World Championships
Personal information
Full nameMijaín López Núñez
Nickname(s)The Kid, The Terrible'
NationalityCuban
Born (1982-08-20) 20 August 1982
Pinar del Río, Cuba
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight131.5 kg (290 lb)
Sport
CountryCuba
SportWrestling
Event(s)Greco-Roman
ClubCerro Pelado
Coached byPedro Val
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 4 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 32 4 1
Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
Representing  Cuba
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2008 Beijing120 kg
Gold medal – first place2012 London120 kg
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro130 kg
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo130 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 Budapest120 kg
Gold medal – first place2007 Baku120 kg
Gold medal – first place2009 Herning120 kg
Gold medal – first place2010 Moscow120 kg
Gold medal – first place2014 Tashkent130 kg
Silver medal – second place2006 Guangzhou120 kg
Silver medal – second place2011 Istanbul120 kg
Silver medal – second place2015 Las Vegas130 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first place2005 Tehran120 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Budapest120 kg
Gold medal – first place2009 Clermont-Ferrand120 kg
World University Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 Izmir120 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2003 Santo Domingo120 kg
Gold medal – first place2007 Rio de Janeiro120 kg
Gold medal – first place2011 Guadalajara120 kg
Gold medal – first place2015 Toronto130 kg
Gold medal – first place2019 Lima130 kg
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place2014 San Juan130 kg[1]
Gold medal – first place2014 Veracruz130 kg[2]
Gold medal – first place2018 Barranquilla130 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 Maracaibo120 kg
Silver medal – second place2003 Guatemala City120 kg
Gold medal – first place2004 Guatemala City120 kg
Gold medal – first place2005 Guatemala City120 kg
Gold medal – first place2006 Rio de Janeiro120 kg
Gold medal – first place2007 San Salvador120 kg
Gold medal – first place2008 Colorado Springs120 kg
Gold medal – first place2009 Maracaibo120 kg
Gold medal – first place2012 Colorado Springs120 kg
Gold medal – first place2014 Mexico City130 kg
Junior Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 Bogota120 kg
Men's Freestyle Wrestling
Junior Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 Bogota120 kg

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 both competitions, he won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman 120 kg category.[4] 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. [5] 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.[6]

References
  1. Details of the 130 kg division Greco-Roman event at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 2014 from the United World Wrestling Database.
  2. Details of the 130 kg division Greco-Roman event at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, November 2014 from the United World Wrestling Database.
  3. "International Wrestling Database".
  4. "Cuba's Lopez wins 120kg Greco-roman wrestling gold". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  5. "Wrestler wins fourth straight Olympic gold". BBC Sport.
  6. "The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  7. Details of Mijaín López Núñez profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.
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