{"id":307120,"date":"2024-08-08T19:52:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T23:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=307120"},"modified":"2024-08-08T19:52:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T23:52:51","slug":"mijain-lopez-god-of-pure-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/sports-cuba\/mijain-lopez-god-of-pure-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez: God of pure gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

The name of Yuri Evseichik is not just another one in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling. The Israeli won world bronze in 1998 and repeated the same position in the summer games of Sydney 2000, in addition to being considered one of the best gladiators of the super heavyweights in the 1990s. However, in Cuba he is not remembered for his triumphs, but for being the first obstacle in Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez\u2019s Olympic career.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far back as August 24, 2004, Evseichik appeared dressed in red at the Ano Liosia Olympic Hall in Athens, ready to make his debut with a blow against a 22-year-old kid who arrived at Mount Olympus like a mere mortal, even though his figure seemed to be hand-sculpted and resembled that of Zeus, Poseidon or Ares.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it did not take long for Mikhail (as he was presented by the Greek organizers) to set off the alarms of his rivals. The rookie born in a remote town in Pinar del R\u00edo began his journey in Athens with a firm step, achieving an energetic bear hug and a couple of off-balances that disconcerted Evseichik and sent him to the showers early.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next victim was the Turkish Yekta Y\u0131lmaz G\u00fcl, also eliminated from the map, leaving the table set, after 24 hours, to face the decisive fights. At that point, the first obstacle in the Cuban\u2019s path was the Russian Khasan Baroev, who could never have imagined that he was about to enter the record books as the only human being to have defeated Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez in the Olympic Games.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Pinar del R\u00edo athlete lost, one of the many Cubans who suffered was Yasmani Acosta, a promising 16-year-old wrestler who was already taking his first steps on the Matanzas mats, with hopes of one day being promoted to the national team. The athlete from Matanzas was fighting in the heavyweight division, so the clashes with Mija\u00edn were already written in his destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Acosta never imagined \u2015 like Baroev \u2015 is that one of those confrontations would come exactly 20 years after Athens, at the farewell of the legendary Giant from <\/span>Herradura <\/span>and even perhaps his own. In all that time, the lives of these two Cubans have taken many turns: the defeat in 2004 transformed Mija\u00edn into a competitive beast, the Caribbean reincarnation of Aleksandr Karelin, a practically invincible fighter for two decades; while Yasmani took the path of emigration and fought to become a figure in Chile, a country with no tradition whatsoever in wrestling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the distance, the two managed to stay connected in some way, deceiving the passage of time, overcoming all kinds of adversities and climbing onto the central stage of the Champ de Mars Arena to dispute the title of the Paris Olympic Games. Few sports stories must have such a perfectly crafted script…<\/span><\/p>\n

As expected, the ending did not disappoint either. The two giants came out into the arena escorted by their trainers \u2015 also Cubans through and through \u2015, walked to the mat, shook hands, hugged each other and began the dispute, the last dance.<\/span><\/p>\n

From then on, Paris surrendered to Mija\u00edn: \u201cL\u00f3pez, L\u00f3pez, L\u00f3pez!\u201d chanted the crowd as the six minutes of combat until eternity vanished. And as if it were a formality, the Pinar del R\u00edo wrestler pushed, pulled, grabbed again until he achieved the same bear hug of the first Olympic day against Yuri Evseichik, turned Acosta, got a back pass, and maintained his immaculate defense. Imperial!<\/span><\/p>\n

Mija\u00edn L\u00f3pez: \u201cYa entregu\u00e9 las armas\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n