Weightlifter Yeison López López, 25, from Istmina, achieved a feat by winning a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the 89 kilogram category.
Son of Lucretian and Maria Luisa Lopez.
At the start, Yeison López imposed authority in the snatch. He obtained a total score of 390 kg, adding the snatch of 180 kg and the clean and jerk of 210 kg.
In the clean and jerk, López failed on his first attempt, with 205 kg. Then, on the second attempt, he managed to lift the same weight. On his last attempt, he managed to lift 210 kg, which earned him the Olympic silver medal.
Yeison was born in Istmina and grew up in a humble home in the midst of very difficult circumstances such as poverty and war. He was only able to study until the fourth grade, because his family was threatened and he had to flee when he was eleven years old with his brother to Cali where an aunt lived.
At the age of 12, she sold candy on the streets of Cali to help her family because her aunt did not have the resources to feed them.
His cousin Wilmer was a weightlifter in the Liga del Valle and at 13, Yilmer decided to follow in his footsteps. What he never imagined was that he would surpass him and become a true revelation of weightlifting in Colombia.
This was the start of a dizzying journey that took this young man to the most important podiums in world sport. Departmental champion of Valle del Cauca was just the beginning. National champion, Pan-American champion, world records in Tokyo, Malaysia and Guatemala. World champion.
In 2016, Acord Del Valle was declared the best athlete, the strongest young man in the world by the Olympic Channel, and Athlete of the Year by El Espectador.