The greatest Olympian you’ve never heard of just retired – and it was beautiful

Greco-Roman wrestling can seem impenetrable but Mijain Lopez makes it simple. And he retires having accomplished something no one else in history has

Mijain Lopez left his shoes in the ring as a signal of his retirement from Greco-Roman wrestling (Getty Images)

Greco-Roman wrestling can seem archaic and impenetrable to the layman – huge, powerful men locking onto one another and manoeuvring each other around a mat in some kind of massive hug.

But when Cuba’s Mijain Lopez, known as ‘Giant of Herradura’, is in the arena, it quickly becomes very simple.

Even at 41, Lopez’s superhuman strength is obvious. He decides how the combat will go and everyone else simply has to fall into line.

In Paris on Tuesday, he made history. No one, not Carl Lewis or Al Oerter or even Michael Phelps has won the same individual event at five consecutive Olympics. Until now.

As Lopez prepared for his historic bout against Chile’s Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, you could sense that the crowd in attendance was aware of what was at stake.

For anyone left with any doubt, the presence of IOC president Thomas Bach was a giveaway. Bach was not about to miss out on a moment of history.

Mijain Lopez is an Olympic icon (AFP via Getty Images)

He left his shoes in the ring as a sign of respect to the sport (AP)

His opponent, Fernandez, is here representing Chile. But like Lopez, he was born in Cuba. His reason for leaving the island was to step out of the shadow of his idol and to get his chance to compete at this level.

They remain close, and even spoke ahead of the final.

Fernandez said: “I asked him, as a joke, if he had any advice to give me before the final. He responded, ‘What do you mean? The final is against me.’ But at the end, he just wished me a good match.”

Lopez may have been joking but he was also correct. Fernandez competed manfully, but just as has been the case for everyone Lopez has faced on this stage since 2008, he had no chance – the final scoreline of 6-0 was as emphatic as it was accurate.

‘El Terrible’, as he is also known, is a terrifying sight. At nearly two metres tall and 130kg, he is a fraction, but only a fraction, smaller than French judoka Teddy Riner, a double gold medallist at these Games in this very same Champ de Mars Arena, which sits in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

The crowd treated Lopez as a hero as he retired (AP)

At the age of 41, Lopez overcame Yasmani Acosta Fernandez for his fifth straight gold medal (Getty Images)

Like Riner, he is probably not the athlete he once was, although his coach Raul Trujillo insists that Lopez has the biological age of a young athlete. But as with his judo counterpart, Lopez makes up for whatever physical prowess he has surrendered with nous borne of years of experience.

Coming into Paris, Lopez had not fought for three years. Preserving a body entering its 40s means making sacrifices. For him, staying injury-free for the ultimate competition was all that mattered.

And yet when he was asked back in March whether he was going to make it five Olympic gold medals in a row, the answer was unequivocal: “I will repeat”.

He knew, and now so do we.

Even for those who were watching Greco-Roman wrestling for the very first time, it was obvious. Lopez is one of a kind and has now taken his place in Olympic history.

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