Cuba's Lopez Nunez wins historic fifth Olympic gold


PARIS - Cuba's Mijain Lopez Nunez made history with his gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 130kg final, becoming the first person to take five Olympic gold medals in the same event.
In the final, Lopez Nunez decisively defeated Chile's Yasmani Acosta Fernandez by a score of 6-0. He is regarded as a legend in wrestling worldwide. After the match, he left his wrestling boots on the mat, symbolizing his retirement.
"I'll be retiring; it's over. We need to make some space for the newcomers. Wrestling has been the love of my life, all my life," he remarked.
In the bronze medal matches, China's Meng Lingzhe and Iran's Amin Mirzazadeh came out on top of their opponents to clinch medals.
Earlier in the day, China's Cao Liguo was defeated by Japan's Kenichiro Fumita in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 60kg final, settling for a silver medal, equaling China's best Olympic wrestling result.
China's previous top achievement in men's wrestling at the Olympics was Chang Yongxiang's silver medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 74kg at Beijing 2008.
Reflecting on his match, Cao said, "It's tough to lose after preparing for so long. There's certainly some disappointment, but performing at my training level is what really matters."
Kyrgyzstan's Zholaman Sharshenbekov and the DPR Korea's Ri Se-ung shared the bronze medals.
In the women's freestyle wrestling 68kg final, which concluded the day's events, the United States' Amit Elor captured the gold.
Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan secured the silver, while Turkiye's Buse Cavusoglu Tosun and Japan's Nonoka Ozaki shared the bronze medals.
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