Three-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez will not participate in the Pan-American Championships, to be held in Ottawa, Canada, from March 6 to 9. He will, however, attend the Tokyo 2020 Games and will be gunning his fourth Olympic Gold in the 130kg Greco-Roman discipline.
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If Lopez (37) wins the gold in Tokyo, he will create a world record, surpassing Russian Aleksandr Karelin, who too has won three Greco-Roman Olympic golds – at Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996).
Regardless of how the Olympics turn up for the veteran, he will be retiring from the sport after the Summer Games in Japan. “After Tokyo I am retiring. It’s already decided,” the Cuban wrestling legend said.
When asked about reasons behind this decision, Lopez, who is also a five-time World Champion, said “(it is) because of my age, I want to rest and it’s time to give the opportunity to new generations. I want to say goodbye of course by winning my fourth Olympic gold medal. I am preparing myself for this and I am sure that I will achieve it.”
Besides gold medals at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the heavyweight legend also has three UWW World Cup and five World Cup titles to his credit.
His roll of honours also includes one World University Championships, five Pan-American Championships, three Central American and Caribbean Games, nine Pan American Championships and one Junior Pan American Championships gold medal.
Besides, he also had won a freestyle gold in the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships.
