Naim Süleymanoğlu

Naim Süleymanoğlu

Personal information
Nationality	Turkish
Born	January 23, 1967 (1967-01-23) (age 44) Momchilgrad, Bulgaria
Height	1.47 m (4.8 ft)
Sport
Country	Turkey
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	–60 kg
Medal record Competitor for  Turkey Olympic Games Gold 1988 Seoul -60 kg Gold 1992 Barcelona -60 kg Gold 1996 Atlanta -64 kg World Championships Total Gold 1989 Athens -60 kg Gold 1991 Donaueschingen -60 kg Gold 1993 Melbourne 64 kg Gold 1994 Istanbul -64 kg Gold 1995 Guangzhou -64 kg Competitor for  Bulgaria World Championships Total Gold 1985 Södertälje -60 kg Gold 1986 Sofia -60 kg Silver 1983 Moscow -56 kg

Naim Süleymanoğlu (born January 23, 1967 in Momchilgrad, Bulgaria), formerly known as Naim Suleimanov (Bulgarian: Наим Сюлейманов), is a Turkish World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting. He won three Olympic Championships, seven World Championships and six European Championships and earned 46 world records.

Biography

Born in Bulgaria of Turkish descent, he was nicknamed "The Pocket Hercules" due to his small stature of 1.47 m (4.8 ft). He is the second of only seven lifters to clean and jerk three times their bodyweight.^[1] Suleimanov set his first world record at the age 16 but missed his first chance at Olympic success in 1984 when Bulgaria joined the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Soon afterwards the Communist regime in Bulgaria forced its Turkish minority to adopt Bulgarian names and he became known internationally as Naum Shalamanov (Наум Шаламанов). While on a trip to the World Cup Final in Melbourne in 1986, Suleimanov defected. He resurfaced in Turkey and applied for citizenship. He also changed his name from the Bulgarian Suleimanov/Shalamanov to the Turkish Süleymanoğlu. After the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, his family was able to join him in Turkey.

A battle over which country he would represent in the 1988 Seoul Olympics arose. The Bulgarian government demanded and received $1,000,000 from Turkey to allow him to compete for Turkey. Süleymanoğlu did not disappoint, winning the featherweight gold medal. He retired at the age of 22, after winning the world championship in 1989. However, the allure of competition was too strong and he returned in 1991 before winning a second Olympic gold medal at Barcelona in 1992. Between the Olympiads, Süleymanoğlu continued to win world titles and set records.

The 1996 Olympic Games were to be his swansong and he retired after winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games.

Süleymanoğlu made another comeback in a late attempt to earn a fourth gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney but failed to lift 145 kg, which would have been a World record, and was eliminated from the competition. He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2001. In 2000 and 2004 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.^[2]

At the 1999 general elections, he stood as an independent candidate to represent Bursa at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In 2002 he was the candidate of the Nationalist Movement Party for the mayor of Kıraç municipality in Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul Province and represented the same party in general elections in 2006. He was unsuccessful in all these attempts.

Health problems

It was reported that Süleymanoğlu had a heart attack and had to be hospitalized in Istanbul after an epileptic convulsion on April 30, 2009.

Career bests

• Snatch: 152.5 kg in class to 60 kg.
• Clean and jerk: 170.5 kg 1984 in Varna in class to 56 kg.^[3]
• Clean and jerk: 190.0 kg in class to 60 kg.
• Total: 342.5 kg (152.5 + 190.0) 1988 Summer Olympics in class to 60 kg.^[4]

Sinclair Points: 505 - all time world record, in theory best lifter for size ever.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Turks in Bulgaria

References

1. ^ http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.asp?PAR_I_ID=61224
2. ^ "Weightlifting Hall of Fame". International Weightlifting Federation. http://www.iwf.net/iwf/organization/members.php. Retrieved 2008-08-07. 
3. ^ http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=50 Retrieved on 2009-10-09.
4. ^ http://www.chidlovski.net/liftup/l_galleryResult.asp?a_id=259 Retrieved on 2009-10-09.

External links

• Naim Suleymanoglu, Hall of Fame at Lift Up
• Naim Suleymanoglu at Database Weightlifting

Persondata
Name	Suleymanoglu, Naim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1967-01-23
Place of birth	Ptichar, Bulgaria
Date of death
Place of death