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Athlete

Naim Suleymanoglu

Also Known As Pocket Hercules
Gymnastics and Strength Sports

Naim Suleymanoglu, nicknamed Pocket Hercules for his combination of a 147 centimeter frame and immense strength, was a Turkish weightlifter and three time Olympic gold medalist. Born to ethnic Turkish parents in Bulgaria, he defected to Turkey in 1986 amid a state policy forcing ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic names, with Turkey paying Bulgaria for his athletic release. He set 51 world records between 1983 and 1996 and remains one of the most dominant lifters in the sport's history. He died in Istanbul in 2017 at age 50. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Date
1967-01-23 1
Death Date
2017-11-18 1
Nationality
Turkey 1
Career Highlight
Defected from Bulgaria to Turkey in 1986 after fleeing his handlers during a competition in Melbourne, amid a Bulgarian policy that forced ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic names; Turkey paid Bulgaria 1.25 million dollars to secure his release to compete internationally. 1
Career Highlight
Set 51 world records between 1983 and 1996 and won seven World Championship titles; at Seoul 1988 his clean and jerk of 190 kilograms was 3.15 times his own body weight, the highest ratio on record. 1
Career Highlight
Won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 in the 60 kilogram division and Atlanta 1996 in the 64 kilogram division. 1
Classification
Competition Category
Individual 1
Connections

Competed In

Olympic Games, Competitions
Source Wikipedia, Naim Suleymanoglu

Long-Form Articles

The Melbourne Defection That Made Pocket Hercules a Turk, Articles

Plays

Weightlifting, Sports
Source Wikipedia, Naim Suleymanoglu
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Turkey, nationality there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Naim Suleymanoglu
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikipedia or cited reference, description lead (competition-category)
    Naim Suleymanoglu, nicknamed Pocket Hercules for his combination of a 147 centimeter frame and immense strength, was a Turkish weightlifter and three time Olympic gold medalist.
  • Plays: Weightlifting
  • Competed In: Olympic Games
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