Greco-Roman wrestling Cuba's legendary López eyes fifth consecutive gold

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest Olympian of them all? Ask an American and they would probably say Michael Phelps. In Cuba, you may get a different answer.

- Alexandra Topping

The Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López started his attempt to become arguably the greatest Olympian of the modern era yesterday, as he moved one grapple closer to an unrivalled fifth consecutive gold in a single event.

While Phelps defeated hundreds of competitors over four Games to win his 28 medals (23 of them gold) and become the most decorated Olympian of modern times, in Paris López hopes to see off the athlete's greatest foe: time itself. "I will do it," the 41-year-old said in March. "The fatigue is there, the physical pain is there, so the mind has to be strong, the motivation has to be even stronger."

Greco-Roman wrestling is not the marquee sport of an Olympics these days, but its primordial allure was on full display at the Champ de Mars Arena. Chosen as one of the founding sports in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, Greco-Roman wrestling - unlike freestyle is still open only to men, who use their immense upper body strength in unforgiving clinches, scoring points by executing holds, locks, throws or other legal takedowns.