Pocket Hercules dies at 50

Istanbul, November 18

Turkey’s legendary triple Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu, the diminutive “pocket Hercules,” has died aged 50, state media said.

Suleymanoglu, only 1.47m (4.8 feet) tall, scored a historic hat-trick of consecutive Olympics titles starting in Seoul in 1988 then Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996.

The Bulgarian-born Suleymanoglu, who had in late September been admitted to intensive care after suffering liver failure, died in hospital in Istanbul.

The weightlifter had been given a liver transplant earlier this month after a suitable donor was found and initial reports had said that the surgery was successful. Suleymanoglu’s exploits made him a national hero in Turkey, where he is regarded as one of the greatest sports personalities in the country’s history. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had visited Suleymanoglu in hospital and received the news while delivering a speech to supporters, expressed his condolences on live television over Suleymanoglu’s death.

“He was the pocket Hercules who broke 46 records. He was a sportsman who won the hearts not just of the Turkish people but the world,” the head of the Turkish weightlifting federation Tamer Taspinar said. 

Suleymanoglu initially competed for Bulgaria but defected from the then-communist Bulgaria in December 1986 during the Weightlifting World Cup in Melbourne. In an episode that caused a sensation at the time, Suleymanoglu left for London aboard the Turkish prime minister’s plane, which then took him on to Turkey where he was given a hero’s welcome.

Bulgaria fumed over his defection and Suleymanoglu was initially suspended for a year. But he then stormed to victory at the 1988 Olympics. 

Suleymanoglu is the only weightlifter to win gold medals at three different Olympics. He was granted the Olympic Order by then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch in 2001. — AFP