Naim Suleymanoglu, the Turkish weightlifter who won three Olympic Gold Medals and was known as “Pocket Hercules,” died Saturday. He was 50.
Suleymanoglu was considered one of the sport’s greatest athletes and earned his nickname for his strength and diminutive size.
He died at an Istanbul hospital where he was receiving treatment for cirrhosis of the liver. He had been in intensive care since Sept. 28 and received a liver transplant in October, according to Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency.
The 4-foot-10 weightlifter won three straight Olympic gold medals for Turkey between 1988 and 1996. The Bulgarian-born Suleymanoglu could lift three times his weight.
He came out of retirement to try for a fourth gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 but missed all three of his lifts.
“I know only gold,” Suleymanoglu said when he returned to competition. “I do not know about silver or bronze.”
Suleymanoglu also won seven world and six European championships.
He was born to an ethnic Turkish family in Bulgaria, and defected to Turkey in 1986 while training in Australia.
Regarded as a national hero in his adopted country, Suleymanoglu captured the hearts of Turks after winning his first gold at Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. Whenever Suleymanoglu returned home from a tournament, he would be greeted by thousands of fans who would lift him up on their shoulders.
