Naim Süleymanoğlu

Naim Süleymanoğlu (Наим Сюлейманоглу; 23 January 1967 – 18 November 2017) was a Turkish Olympic weightlifter.

He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set 46 world records.

At 147 cm in height, Süleymanoğlu's short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed "Pocket Hercules".

He is widely considered as one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters of all time.

He is the best pound-for-pound weightlifter in the history of weightlifting.

In the 1980s, Bulgaria's government implemented a program called the Revival Process which required ethnic minorities to adopt Slavic names and barred their languages.

He set a world weightlifting record during his teens and would have been an overwhelming favorite to win gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics had Bulgaria not joined in a boycott by the Eastern Block.

As a result, Süleymanoğlu was forced to change his name to Naum Shalamanov (Bulgarian: Наум Шаламанов) in 1985.

He decided to leave Bulgaria after these experiences and he conducted encrypted correspondence with Turkish Squad during the period.

While on a trip to the World Cup Final in Melbourne in 1986, Süleymanoğlu escaped his handlers, and after several days in hiding, he defected at the Turkish Embassy in Canberra.

When Embassy officials reported the situation to Turgut Özal, The Prime Minister ordered him to be brought at once.

He landed in London first, where he was transferred into a private jet to fly into Istanbul and Ankara eventually.

After making his way to Istanbul, he changed his name back to Süleymanoğlu.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Süleymanoğlu set multiple world records in the featherweight division in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total.

Following the 1988 Summer Olympics, he made the cover of Time magazine.

In order for Süleymanoğlu to compete at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Bulgarian government had to agree to release his eligibility to Turkey.

The Turks paid Bulgaria $1.25 million for his release.

At the Olympics, Süleymanoğlu competed in the featherweight division.

His main competition was his old teammate from the Bulgarian team, Stefan Topurov.

He came out for the snatch portion of the competition after all other athletes had finished and made three consecutive lifts, setting world records in his last two attempts.

In the clean and jerk portion, Topurov completed a 175.0 kg clean and jerk after Süleymanoğlu.

With his next two lifts, Süleymanoğlu set two more world records and won his first Olympic gold.

His last lift was a 190.0 kg clean and jerk that was 3.15 times his body weight, which is the highest ratio clean and jerk to body weight of all time.

Using the Sinclair coefficient, his performance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics was the most dominating weightlifting performance of all time.

His total was high enough to win the weight class above his.

After the 1988 Summer Olympics, Süleymanoğlu appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

The 4'10" Süleymanoğlu's "diminutive size and stunning strength" led to him being nicknamed "Pocket Hercules".

Süleymanoğlu retired from weightlifting at the age of 22 after winning the world championship in 1989.

However, he returned to the sport in 1991 and won a second Olympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992.

Süleymanoğlu went on to win Olympic gold in 1992 and 1996.

He retired after winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games.

That competition was noted for the rivalry between Süleymanoğlu and Greece's Valerios Leonidis, with the arena divided into partisan Turkish and Greek crowds.

At the end of the competition, they were the last competitors remaining as they traded three straight world-record lifts.

Süleymanoğlu managed to raise 187.5 kg, and then Leonidis failed in his attempt to lift 190 kg which earned Süleymanoğlu the gold medal.

In a show of sportsmanship Süleymanoğlu embraced Leonidis, who had broken down in tears.

In 2000 and 2004, he was elected as a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.

Süleymanoğlu was born in Ptichar, Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria.

His father was a miner who stood only five feet tall, while his mother was four-foot-seven.

He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2001.

In 2012, Süleymanoğlu said, "Against all the odds, I've never been nostalgic. After being treated with such attitude, you wouldn't regret it. The Bulgarians changed the names of 2 million people by force. It was a very difficult period. People who witnessed the events would know. I wouldn't change any of the decisions I took that day in my life. Even if I could set back the clock, I would still escape Bulgaria. Because as the Turkish people, we were too hard-pressed in Bulgaria."