Mijaín López wrestles with the prospect of becoming the greatest Olympian of the modern era

Cuba’s Mijaín López defeats Lee Seungchan of South Korea in the Greco-Roman wrestling event. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

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

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