The 41-year-old Greco-Roman style wrestler returned to the mat and stormed to the final with great confidence. On 6 August Lopez faced Chile’s Yasmani Acosta and won 6-0, without giving any chance to his opponent. Already a legend, the Cuban giant made his legacy even more impressive.

The way Lopez wrestled in Paris there is no doubt: no one is close to him. The only time he lost was in Athens 2004 when he was defeated by Russia’s Khasan Baroev in the quarterfinal. He returned to the Olympic Games after four years and claimed gold medals at the Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now at Paris 2024.

After the bout, Lopez left his shoes on the mat, which means he retired from the sport.

Defending world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran and China’s Lingzhe Meng won the bronze medals.

Lopez’s gold medal was the most awaited event in the wrestling competition, but there were also other heroes of the day. Kenichiro Fumita from Japan defeated China’s Liguo Cao in the men’s -60 kg category final to claim his career’s first Olympic gold. Fumita defeated two-time world champion Zholaman Sharshenbekov in the semi-final the previous day and was the favourite to win the gold in the final. Sharshenbekov and North Kortea’s Se Ung Ri won the bronze medals.

USA’s Amit Elor became Olympic champion in the women’s -68 kg category, She defeated Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in the final. Nanoka Ozaki (Japan) and Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (Turkiye) won the bronze medals.

Semifinals

Besides the gold medal bouts, the finalists were decided in another three weight categories.

Armenia’s Artur Aleksanyan is making his way to legendary status. He defeated reigning world champion Gabriel Rosillo of Cuba to reach the final of the men’s -97 kg category. Aleksanyan will wrestle for his career’s second gold and fourth overall Olympic medal on 7 August. He will compete against Iran’s Mohamed Saravi.

Japan’s Nao Kusaka stunned Armenia’s European champion Malkhas Amoyan in the semi-final and will face Kazakhstan’s Demeu Zhadrayev of Kazakhstan. The latter produced one of the two big surprises of the day defeating world champion Akzhol Makhmudov of Kyrgyzstan in the quarterfinals.

In the 1/8 final of the women’s -50 kg category, Vinesh Phogat of India defeated Japan’s Yui Susaki, who had never lost an international bout before and had lost only three bouts before that, all to her teammate Yuki Irie. Phogat reached the final and will face USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt there. 

The final bouts of these weight categories will take place on 7 August.