Wrestler Mijaín López Does Not Retire from Greco-Roman Wrestling

January 12, 2023

Mijaín López is, without a doubt, the greatest Cuban athlete of all time. His five world titles and four Olympic titles are beyond question, as is his dominance in the heavyweight division of Greco-Roman wrestling since 2005 until now.

At 40 years of age, and after winning his fourth Olympic title in Tokyo, the giant from Herradura has stepped away from the mats.

Becoming the first man to taste Olympic glory four times led him to take a break in his career, but as he confessed exclusively to CubaSí, this may only be a pause, not an end.

"After a year of rest, we have to see how the body reacts to training to see if I can continue. I should be about 10 or 15 kilograms above my ideal weight, but throughout my career I have always been able to lose weight when necessary, that doesn't worry me too much. That difference seems like a lot, but when you start training, it comes off without many problems. With training and dedication I return to my weight, that doesn't worry me."

Accompanied by his children, he attended as a special guest at the Cuban Sports Gala to honor the best athletes of 2022, in which for the first time in more than a decade he is not the main protagonist. However, he is compensated by the fact of having lived "normally" in recent months.

"This was a very good year for me, I needed to spend more time with my family, with the children. After 30 years of sports career, with much sacrifice, this was very helpful for me after achieving my fourth Olympic title. With this I also recharge my batteries and with the motivation I have I believe I can return to the mats."

That is the fundamental task, to awaken again that hunger for victory that made you the most dominant wrestler in the world…

"I am motivated to resume my sports career, I have already discussed it with the coaching staff and I want to test myself to see what happens, my body is what will tell me if I can handle the training loads."

Of course, everything will depend on how he feels upon his return, and this year that is just beginning, with important commitments such as the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, is not the most important one, but the next one.

With five Pan American golds and two Central American golds, Mijaín has nothing to seek at the regional competitions, but that does not mean the year will be a sabbatical. The presence in the preselection of Oscar Pino, who ranks among the best in the division currently, may be his greatest incentive and his measure to know if he is ready to attack that dream of becoming the only gladiator with five Olympic golds, regardless of gender. Let us remember that in the women's category, Japanese Kaori Icho (2004-2016) also won four Olympic titles.

That should be his main motivation, to sit alone on Olympus to contemplate mortals, but it will not be easy because our great champion would arrive at Paris 2024 (from July 26 to August 11) on the verge of turning 42 years old, on August 20. As always, everything is in his powerful hands, and his main rival will be himself once again. If he is in shape, the rest will fight again to share the silver and bronze.