Naim Suleymanoglu biography
Naim Suleymanoglu, unique identify Naim Suleimanov, Bulgarian Naum Shalamanov, byname Pocket Hercules, (born January 23, 1967, Ptichar, Bulgaria—died November 18, 2017, Istanbul, Turkey), Bulgarian-born Turkish weightlifter who dominated the game within the mid-Eighties and ’90s.
Suleymanoglu, the son of a miner of Turkish descent, started lifting weights at age 10, and at age 14 he got here inside 2.5 kg (5.5 kilos) of a world document. At age 15 he set his first world document. He was prevented from competing within the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles by Bulgaria’s boycott. Standing at a peak of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 inches), he grew to become dominant within the lighter body-weight classes.
In 1986 Suleymanoglu defected to Turkey whereas competing on the World Cup event in Melbourne, Australia, and adopted a Turkish type of his final identify. Turkey paid Bulgaria greater than $1 million to waive the Olympic rule barring athletes from collaborating for 3 years after altering nationality, and Suleymanoglu competed for Turkey on the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He received an Olympic gold medal, Turkey’s first in weightlifting. He set world information within the 60-kg (132-pound) weight class within the snatch (152.5 kg [336 pounds]) and the clear and jerk (190 kg [419 pounds]) for a complete of 342.5 kg (755 kilos)—an incredible 30 kg (66 kilos) greater than his nearest competitor.
In 1992 Suleymanoglu defended his gold medal on the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, profitable the snatch (142.5 kg [314 pounds]) and the clear and jerk (177.5 kg [391 pounds]) for a complete of 320 kg (705 kilos). Competing within the 64-kg (141-pound) weight class on the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, he once more earned a gold medal, lifting 147.5 kg (325 kilos) within the snatch and 187.5 kg (413 kilos) within the clear and jerk for a world document complete of 335 kg (738 kilos)—making him the game’s first three-time gold medalist. After a three-year retirement, he returned to competitors in 1999 and took part on the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, however he did not win a medal.