Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler, Nunez Lopez, on Tuesday won his fifth Olympic gold medal in the 130kg, beating Fernandez Acosta of Chile in the process at the ongoing Paris 2024 Games.
Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is also, five-time World Champion, and five-time Pan American Games champion.
The Cuban after the fight celebrated his coaching crew by lifting one up and throwing the other over in the celebrations mood.
The Cuban put off his fighting shoes and left them in the middle of the mat, in what looks like the 41-year-old is retiring from the sport.
His first gold medal was in Beijing 2008, the other in London 2012 and the 3rd in Rio De Janeiro in 2016. He won the 4th in Tokyo 2020 before his victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer.
On July 3, he and the Cuban judoka Idalys Ortíz were designated as the flag bearers for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Ofili, Oborududu dash raised hopes after faltering in athletics, wrestling
Favour Ofili on Tuesday failed to fulfill all raised hopes of a medal for Team Nigeria in the women’s 200 metres event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Nigeria were yet to win a medal as at Tuesday evening and all hopes had been on Ofili who was with a personal best 21.96 seconds.
Blessing Oborududu, who at the same monent was also seeking a bronze medal in the women’s freestyle wrestling 68kg, was also another medal hope.
The 21-year-old Ofili could however not shoulder the burden and finished a disappointing sixth from lane 9.
In the event’s final race at the Stade de France, the athlete who is ranked 31 in the world ran in at 22.24 secs which was slower than her season best 22.05.
The result meant Nigeria’s search for a medal at the ongoing Games continued till another day as Oborududu also failed in her bid.
She lost to Nonoka Ozaki of Japan 3-0 in her bronze medal match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris, losing without scoring any point in the bout.
Nonoka scored two points in the first period, and added the other one in the second period to end all hopes of Team Nigeria’s first medal at the Games.