#kaspeuro2018

Lalovic Visits Kapiisk, Home of the 2018 Euro C'Ships

Monday, March 5, 2018 - 15:19 By Artyom Pozdeyev

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KAPIISK, Russia (March 3) – United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC has examined the readiness of Kaspiisk City as it prepares to host the 2018 Senior European Championships from April 30th to May 6th.

The visit started from a wreath laying ceremony to the monument of five-time world champion, Ali Aliev and an inspection of the Sport Palace bearing his name. 

“An Ali Aliev statue is also on display in the UWW headquarters and respect for the wrestling traditions of Dagestan was one of the factors to choose Kaspiisk City as the place to organization of European Championships,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “The Palace of Sport meets all requirements and it is ready already to host the tournament. There are are also and plans to create a fun zone with a big screen.”

Lalovic also visited hotels, reviewed transport logistics and looked through an assortment of regulatory issues.

“The main outcome of the visit to Dagestan is confidence that the European Championships will be organized on a high level. I am under the impression that all Republic is involved in the preparation,” said Vladimir Vasiliev, head of Dagestan's Organizing Committee on organization of European Championships.  

“Wrestling is the pride of Dagestan. As the story goes there is no such place in the world where one can find so many broken ears on one square meter.  Me are thankful for the confidence and we’ll definitely meet the expectations given by the United World Wrestling,” said Vsilev.

The inspection visit was also attended by Mr. Tzeno Tzenov, UWW-Europe President, Mr. Mikhail Mamiashvili, Wrestling Federation of Russia President, UWW Vice-President and Mr. Georgy Bryusov, UWW-Europe Executive Committee member. 

The decision to organize the European Championships in Kaspiisk City was taken at the UWW Bureau meeting during the World Championships in Paris in August 2017. The championships will be the largest event ever hosted in Dagestan, with the most recent Russian tournaments being the 2010 World Championships and 2006 European Championships held in Moscow.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez confident in his quest for fifth Olympic gold

Sunday, July 21, 2024 - 06:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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PARIS (July 21) -- In the history of the Olympic Games, only one athlete has won the gold medals five consecutive times: Ireen Wüst. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Dutch speed skater completed the milestone and etched her name into the history books when she won the 1,500m race.

No Summer Olympian has ever won gold medals in the same individual event five consecutive times. No wrestler has ever won five gold medals. All that could change in Paris. And the man sniffing at the record is Mijain LOPEZ (CUB).

The man they fondly call ‘Gigante de Herradura’ and ‘El Terrible’ currently holds the record of winning the same individual Olympic event four times along with swim legend Michael Phelps, track hero Carl Lewis, the American discus throw hero Al Oerter, the sailor from Denmark Paul Elvstrom and Kaori ICHO (JPN) who, like Lopez, has four gold medals.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Born on August 20, 1982, the super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler made his first appearance at the Olympics in 2004. He was accompanied in the contingent by his elder brother Michel, a boxer (his other older sibling, Misael, was a rower). Michel won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division in Athens, a medal that continued Cuba’s historic dominance in boxing.

Lopez observed everything quietly at his maiden Games and when he returned to the biggest stage of all, in Beijing four years later, he would take the field by storm. The 6-foot-5-inch tall wrestler won a gold and repeated that feat in 2012, then in 2016 and the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“I feel like it is a dream,” Lopez said. “I believe that it's a goal that I have had throughout my career. I have won four gold medals. I believe winning an Olympic gold medal is hard. So winning four and five is exceptional.”

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) defends his gold medal at 2012 London Olympic Games (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

His stranglehold in the super heavyweight division at the Olympics has played side-by-side with his dominance at the World Championships – where he has five titles and three silver medals – and the nine Pan American Championships crowns that are to his name.

Lopez last competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. After beating Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the gold medal bout on superiority, he stayed away from the mat before resurfacing last year to renew his bid for a fifth Olympic gold.

In May 2023, he announced his intention to come back but didn’t straightaway dive into competition mode although he would have been the favorite to defend his Pan American Games title.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his third gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

But due to a personal loss in the weeks leading up to the Pan-Am Games, Lopez opted out of the competition and chose to prepare himself for the bigger battle. He watched from the sidelines as for the first time since 2003, a new face stood on the top of the podium at the Pan-Am Games.

All the while, Lopez had been training with single-minded focus at his bases in Varadero, the scenic beach resort roughly 150 km from Havana, and the Pelado High-Performance Centre in Havana.

In Paris, he might have to fight two battles simultaneously. The first against his aging body — he is 41 years old at the moment. And once he manages that, the Cuban will have to navigate through a tough field, especially since he isn’t among the seeded wrestlers in the 130kg category.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his fourth gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Lopez has sounded unfazed. If anything, he is itching to better the record of one of his favorite athletes, someone he has called the greatest Olympian of all time – Phelps.

“The preparation is done. I feel in optimal condition and all wrestlers are motivated both in Cuba and internationally. It has been a very important time for me to keep the motivation to get to my sixth Olympic Games and fight for my fifth medal,” he said. “Something I am doing with great focus to be able to show the world that everything you have in mind, and want to achieve, can be achieved. I know it's in my mind, and I believe the possibility of achieving that result is high.”

Lopez wrestles in Paris on August 5 and 6.