Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) plans to make Olympic history in Tokyo. In spite of being unseeded, the Cuban wrestling hero might make history by becoming only the second wrestler in Olympic history and the first in Greco-Roman to win four gold medals.
Greco-Roman 130kg Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
(In the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Japan’s Kaori ICHO made history by becoming the first four-time Olympic champion wrestler in any style.) Lopez, now 38 years old, has won five world crowns and three world silver medals, and he is undefeated at the Olympic Games since 2008.
Riza KAYAALP (TUR), the top seed at 130 kilogrammes heading into the Tokyo Olympics, had lost twice to him in world championship competition.
Kayaalp, who is now 31 years old, has a career in international wrestling that places him among the all-time greats in the Greco-Roman heavyweight division. He has won four world titles and three Olympic gold medals.
His sole remaining unfulfilled goal is to win an Olympic gold medal. His only Olympic defeat came at Lopez’s hands. Lopez advanced further than Kayaalp to win the Olympic gold medal in London in 2012.
Four years later, in the gold medal match at the Rio Olympics, Lopez defeated Nadal by a score of 6-0. In 2011 and 2015, he faced Lopez in the finals of the world championship and won both times.
Kayaalp took home gold at the European Championships for the tenth time in April in Warsaw, Poland.
Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) is the reigning world champion and hopes to defend his Olympic gold. After losing to Lopez in the semi-finals, he still managed to win a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics.
Two years later in 2018, Semenov triumphed at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and took home the gold medal. This past December, in Belgrade, Semenov took home gold from the Individual World Cup.
During the March Matteo Pellicone Tournament, Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) finished in second place and took home the silver medal. In early April, he competed in a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games held in Africa and Oceania.
Third-seeded Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is making his third consecutive Olympic appearance. He has racked up a number of medals in the Asian Championships and one at the 2018 Asian Games.
Last Words
Fourth-seeded Former junior world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) took first place at the 2020 Asian Championships. When Mirzazadeh competed at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in June, he came away with the gold medal. Thanks for reading our article Greco-Roman 130kg Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
