The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Cuba

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This page contains a list of the greatest Cuban Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 11 of which were born in Cuba. This makes Cuba the birth place of the 15th most number of Wrestlers behind Turkey, and Italy.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Cuban Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Cuban Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Cuban Wrestlers.

Photo of Mijaín López

1. Mijaín López (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 46.73, Mijaín López is the most famous Cuban Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages on wikipedia.

Mijaín López Núñez (born 20 August 1982) is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold medals (second highest, behind Aleksandr Karelin's twelve), and a five-time Pan American Games champion. He is the younger brother of Michel López Núñez, a Cuban amateur boxer. López was Cuba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and one of the country's flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Upon winning the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 130 kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, López became the first and only athlete in modern Olympics history to win five consecutive gold medals in the same individual event.

Photo of Héctor Rodríguez

2. Héctor Rodríguez (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 42.07, Héctor Rodríguez is the 2nd most famous Cuban Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Héctor Rodríguez Torres (born 12 August 1951) is a Cuban judoka and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by defeating South Korea's Chang Eun-kyung in the final.

Photo of Driulis González

3. Driulis González (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 38.68, Driulis González is the 3rd most famous Cuban Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Driulis González Morales (born 21 September 1973 in Guantánamo) is a Cuban judoka who has won four Olympic medals, including a gold medal in 1996. She carried the flag for her native country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Along with Australia's Mária Pekli and Japan's Ryoko Tamura-Tani, Driulis is the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.

Photo of Héctor Milián

4. Héctor Milián (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 38.10, Héctor Milián is the 4th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Héctor Milián (born 1968) is a Cuban wrestler. He won an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1992. He won a gold medal at the 1991 World Wrestling Championships.

Photo of Filiberto Azcuy

5. Filiberto Azcuy (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 36.40, Filiberto Azcuy is the 5th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Filiberto Azcuy Aguilera (born October 13, 1972) is a Cuban wrestler (Greco-Roman style) who has won two Olympic gold medals.

Photo of Amarilis Savón

6. Amarilis Savón (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 34.54, Amarilis Savón is the 6th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Amarilis Savón Carmenate (born 13 May 1974) is a Cuban judoka who has competed at four Olympic Games and won three Olympic bronze medals at 1992 in Barcelona, 1996 in Atlanta and 2004 in Athens. Currently living in Miami, Florida, in the United States serving as a lead instructor and coach at Somerset Academy Charter. She coached three athletes at the 2013 USA Judo Senior Nationals who earned one gold and one silver medal.

Photo of Sibelis Veranes

7. Sibelis Veranes (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 33.87, Sibelis Veranes is the 7th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Sibelis Veranes Morell (born 5 February 1974) is a Cuban judoka. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal in the women's Middleweight (‍–‍70 kg) category.

Photo of Juan Marén

8. Juan Marén (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 33.74, Juan Marén is the 8th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Juan Luis Marén Delis (born August 20, 1971) is a Cuban wrestler in the Greco-Roman style, who has won three medals at the Olympic Games. He was born in Santiago de Cuba.

Photo of Daima Beltrán

9. Daima Beltrán (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 33.67, Daima Beltrán is the 9th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Daima Mayelis Beltrán Guisado (born 10 September 1972) is a Cuban judoka. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she won the silver medal in the women's Heavyweight (+78 kg) category. She repeated that feat four years later in Athens, Greece. Beltrán is currently training the Mexican Judo women's team at the CONADE facilities. Her most outstanding judokas to date have been Vanessa Zamboti and Edna Carrillo, who have participated in some editions of the Olympic Games.

Photo of Frank Chamizo

10. Frank Chamizo (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 33.56, Frank Chamizo is the 10th most famous Cuban Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Frank Chamizo Marquez (born 10 July 1992) is a Cuban-Italian freestyle wrestler who competes at 74 kilograms. Starting his career in Cuba, Chamizo became a World Cup champion, World Championship medalist, and Pan American champion at 55 kilograms in 2010 and 2011 before immigrating to Italy in 2011 Since then, Chamizo became the greatest Italian wrestler of all time, racking up two World Championships (in 2015 at 65kg and 2017 at 70kg, plus a silver medal in 2019), an Olympic bronze medal in 2016, an Individual World Cup silver medal, a European Games silver medal, four European Championships, and others. Chamizo is also known for his rivalry with seven-time Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs, against whom he has gone 2–4, but winning the last match.

People

Pantheon has 21 people classified as Cuban wrestlers born between 1951 and 1996. Of these 21, 20 (95.24%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Cuban wrestlers include Mijaín López, Héctor Rodríguez, and Driulis González. The most famous deceased Cuban wrestlers include Lázaro Rivas. As of April 2024, 10 new Cuban wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Héctor Rodríguez, Héctor Milián, and Juan Marén.

Living Cuban Wrestlers

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Deceased Cuban Wrestlers

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Newly Added Cuban Wrestlers (2024)

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