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| Naim Suleymanoglu, 50, Dies; Weight Lifting’s ‘Pocket Hercules’ | Naim Suleymanoglu, 50, Dies; Weight Lifting’s ‘Pocket Hercules’ |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| Naim Suleymanoglu, a Turkish weight lifter whose diminutive size and stunning strength earned him the nickname Pocket Hercules on his way to winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals, died on Saturday in Istanbul. He was 50. | Naim Suleymanoglu, a Turkish weight lifter whose diminutive size and stunning strength earned him the nickname Pocket Hercules on his way to winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals, died on Saturday in Istanbul. He was 50. |
| He had been hospitalized in late September with liver failure caused by cirrhosis and had received a transplant on Oct. 6, according to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, which announced the death. On Nov. 11, he had surgery for a brain hemorrhage. | He had been hospitalized in late September with liver failure caused by cirrhosis and had received a transplant on Oct. 6, according to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, which announced the death. On Nov. 11, he had surgery for a brain hemorrhage. |
| Suleymanoglu, who stood about 4 feet 10 inches and competed as a featherweight, was internationally known by the time he competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Not only had he set more than 20 world records; he had also defected from Bulgaria, where he and his family were oppressed ethnic Turks, to Turkey, which celebrated him as a national hero. | Suleymanoglu, who stood about 4 feet 10 inches and competed as a featherweight, was internationally known by the time he competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Not only had he set more than 20 world records; he had also defected from Bulgaria, where he and his family were oppressed ethnic Turks, to Turkey, which celebrated him as a national hero. |
| With flag-waving Turks cheering him in the wrestling auditorium in Seoul, Suleymanoglu (pronounced soo-lay-MAHN-oo-loo) won his first Olympic gold medal. | With flag-waving Turks cheering him in the wrestling auditorium in Seoul, Suleymanoglu (pronounced soo-lay-MAHN-oo-loo) won his first Olympic gold medal. |
| In the snatch — in which competitors raise the barbell overhead in a single continuous motion — Suleymanoglu lifted 336 pounds on his third and final attempt. Then, in the clean and jerk, which requires raising the barbell to the chest and then overhead, he set a new world record in his weight class by lifting 419 pounds. | In the snatch — in which competitors raise the barbell overhead in a single continuous motion — Suleymanoglu lifted 336 pounds on his third and final attempt. Then, in the clean and jerk, which requires raising the barbell to the chest and then overhead, he set a new world record in his weight class by lifting 419 pounds. |
| “I have done the greatest a man can do in sport, but my thoughts are not on the gold medal or the world records,” Suleymanoglu said before flying from Seoul to Ankara on a jet provided by Prime Minister Turgut Ozal of Turkey, according to Sports Illustrated. “My thoughts are with my family. My deepest hope is that they can join me in Turkey.” | |
| Bulgaria allowed his parents and two brothers to join him in Turkey about a month later. | Bulgaria allowed his parents and two brothers to join him in Turkey about a month later. |
| He celebrated his victory in West Germany, France and the United States. In Washington, he attended the premiere of the movie “Twins,” where he could stand face to face with the equally diminutive Danny DeVito (who co-starred in the movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger) when the two met. | |
| Suleymanoglu’s victory at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, was a less dramatic moment. His defection was further in the past. And he did not set any records by defeating a Bulgarian for the gold medal, as he had four years earlier. | Suleymanoglu’s victory at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, was a less dramatic moment. His defection was further in the past. And he did not set any records by defeating a Bulgarian for the gold medal, as he had four years earlier. |
| “That was 1988,” Suleymanoglu said after his victory. “But now it doesn’t matter at all. Any opponent is the same for me.” | “That was 1988,” Suleymanoglu said after his victory. “But now it doesn’t matter at all. Any opponent is the same for me.” |
| The Turks who cheered for him were nonetheless transfixed by the undersize sports superstar. | The Turks who cheered for him were nonetheless transfixed by the undersize sports superstar. |
| “He is all our expectations, someone who can tell our feelings to the whole world,” Levent Bozkurt, a student from Ankara, told The Chicago Tribune. “He is like a leader who shows Turkey’s power, and we just follow him.” | “He is all our expectations, someone who can tell our feelings to the whole world,” Levent Bozkurt, a student from Ankara, told The Chicago Tribune. “He is like a leader who shows Turkey’s power, and we just follow him.” |
| At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Suleymanoglu and his closest rival, Valerios Leonidis of Greece, traded world-record lifts in an epic competition of little men wielding big weights. Their match came down to Leonidis’s final lift. When he failed, Suleymanoglu became the first weight lifter to win gold medals in three successive Olympics. | At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Suleymanoglu and his closest rival, Valerios Leonidis of Greece, traded world-record lifts in an epic competition of little men wielding big weights. Their match came down to Leonidis’s final lift. When he failed, Suleymanoglu became the first weight lifter to win gold medals in three successive Olympics. |
| “You push yourself and he pushes himself harder,” Leonidis said in an interview for “Atlanta’s Olympic Glory” (1997), a documentary directed by Bud Greenspan. “That’s why, when we met before the awards, I said, ‘Naim, you’re the best,’ and he said, ‘No, Valerios, we’re both the best.’ ” | “You push yourself and he pushes himself harder,” Leonidis said in an interview for “Atlanta’s Olympic Glory” (1997), a documentary directed by Bud Greenspan. “That’s why, when we met before the awards, I said, ‘Naim, you’re the best,’ and he said, ‘No, Valerios, we’re both the best.’ ” |
| Suleymanoglu was not the only “Pocket Hercules.” Manohar Aich, a 4-foot-11 bodybuilder who won the Mr. Universe competition in 1952, had the same nickname. He died last year, at 103. | Suleymanoglu was not the only “Pocket Hercules.” Manohar Aich, a 4-foot-11 bodybuilder who won the Mr. Universe competition in 1952, had the same nickname. He died last year, at 103. |
| Naim Suleimanov was born on Jan. 23, 1967, in Ptichar, Bulgaria. His father, a miner and a farmer, was five feet tall. His mother stood 4-foot-7. | Naim Suleimanov was born on Jan. 23, 1967, in Ptichar, Bulgaria. His father, a miner and a farmer, was five feet tall. His mother stood 4-foot-7. |
| Naim lifted rocks and tree branches as a child; at 14, he won a 19-and-under world title and was presumably going to compete in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. But Bulgaria joined the Eastern bloc’s boycott, in retaliation for the United States’ refusal to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the year before. | Naim lifted rocks and tree branches as a child; at 14, he won a 19-and-under world title and was presumably going to compete in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. But Bulgaria joined the Eastern bloc’s boycott, in retaliation for the United States’ refusal to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the year before. |
| Repression against ethnic Turks was growing in Bulgaria; one measure required them to use Bulgarian adaptations of their names. So Naim Suleimanov became Naum Shalamonov. And he decided that he had to defect. | Repression against ethnic Turks was growing in Bulgaria; one measure required them to use Bulgarian adaptations of their names. So Naim Suleimanov became Naum Shalamonov. And he decided that he had to defect. |
| After winning the gold medal at a World Cup wrestling tournament in Melbourne, Australia, in 1986, he fled from his Bulgarian minders and went into hiding for four days before appearing at the Turkish consulate in Canberra to announce his intention to defect. He flew first to London and then to Istanbul. | After winning the gold medal at a World Cup wrestling tournament in Melbourne, Australia, in 1986, he fled from his Bulgarian minders and went into hiding for four days before appearing at the Turkish consulate in Canberra to announce his intention to defect. He flew first to London and then to Istanbul. |
| Soon after, he changed his name to a Turkish one: Naim Suleymanoglu. | Soon after, he changed his name to a Turkish one: Naim Suleymanoglu. |
| And the Turkish government paid Bulgaria’s weight-lifting federation $1 million (or more, according to some accounts) to expedite Suleymanoglu’s eligibility to compete for his new country in 1988. | And the Turkish government paid Bulgaria’s weight-lifting federation $1 million (or more, according to some accounts) to expedite Suleymanoglu’s eligibility to compete for his new country in 1988. |
| Information on survivors was not available. | Information on survivors was not available. |
| Suleymanoglu arrived in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, hoping for a fourth successive Olympic gold medal. But he was 33 and smoking 55 cigarettes a day. And, with some hubris, he made a strategic error, choosing to start in the snatch with a very high weight of 319 pounds. | Suleymanoglu arrived in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, hoping for a fourth successive Olympic gold medal. But he was 33 and smoking 55 cigarettes a day. And, with some hubris, he made a strategic error, choosing to start in the snatch with a very high weight of 319 pounds. |
| Three times he tried. And three times the Pocket Hercules failed. | Three times he tried. And three times the Pocket Hercules failed. |
| As he left the Sydney Convention Center, he told the news media, “Bye-bye, it’s over.” |