Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Naim Suleymanoglu

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Naim Suleymanoglu

Naim Süleymanoğlu world record clean and jerk
Author: Checked. WIKIMEDIA

Naim Suleymanoglu was a Bulgarian, later Turkish Olympic weightlifter. He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set 46 world records.

At 147 cm in height, Suleymanoglu’s short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed “Pocket Hercules”. He is widely considered one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters of all time.

He is the best pound-for-pound weightlifter in the history of weightlifting. Let’s take a look at some of the most fascinating facts about him;

1. Naim was born to an ethnic Turkish family

Suleymanoglu was born in Ptichar, Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria to an ethnic Turkish family. His father was a miner who stood only five feet tall, while his mother was four-foot-seven.

He set a world weightlifting record during his teens and would have been an overwhelming favourite to win gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics had Bulgaria not joined in a boycott by the Eastern Bloc.

2. He has won several gold, silver and Bronze medals in his career

He has won several gold, silver and bronze medals In his career including; Gold in 1988 60kg in Seoul, Gold in 1992 In 60kg in Barcelona, Gold in 1996 in 64kg in Atlanta,  all in Olympic games. 

World championships; Gold in 1989 in 60kg in Athens, Gold in 1991 in 60kg in Donaueschingen, Gold in 1993 in 64kg in Melbourne, Gold in 64kg in 1994 in Instabul, Gold in 1995 in 64kg in Guangzhou. 

European Championships; Gold in 1988 in Cardiff -60 kg, Gold in 1989 in Athens -60 kg, Gold in1994 in Sokolov -64 kg, Gold in 1995 in Warsaw -64 kg, Silver in 1992 in Szekszárd -60 kg, Bronze in 2000 in Sofia -62 kg. 

World Championships; Gold in 1985 Södertälje -60 kg, Gold in 1986 Sofia -60 kg, Silver in 1983 Moscow -56 kg. European Championships; Gold in 1984 Vitoria -56 kg, Gold in 1985 Katowice -60 kg, Gold in 1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt -60 kg, Silver in 1983 in Moscow -56 kg. 

3. Naim is also a world cup winner with Turkey

Naim also was a world cup winner with Turkey on several instances including; The World Junior Championships;Gold in 1982 Sao Paulo -52 kg, The World Cup Final; Gold in 1984 in Sarajevo -56 kg, Gold in 1985 in Monte Carlo -60 kg,

He is also a World Cup Winner; Gold in 1984 Sarajevo -56 kg, Gold in 1985 in Monte Carlo -60 kg, Gold in 1986 in Melbourne -60 kg. 

4. He has received several awards in his career

At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Süleymanoğlu set multiple world records in the featherweight division in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total. Following the 1988 Summer Olympics, he made the cover of Time magazine.

Suleymanoglu went on to win Olympic gold in 1992 and 1996. He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2001. In 2000 and 2004, he was elected as a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame

5. Suleymanoglu left Bulgaria because he was forced to change his name

Suleymanoglu was forced to change his name to Naum Shalamanov in 1985. He decided to leave Bulgaria after these experiences and he conducted encrypted correspondence with the Turkish Squad during the period.

While on a trip to the World Cup Final in Melbourne in 1986, Süleymanoglu escaped his handlers, and after several days in hiding, he defected to the Turkish Embassy in Canberra. When Embassy officials reported the situation to Turgut Özal, The Prime Minister ordered him to be brought at once.

He landed in London first, where he was transferred into a private jet to fly into Istanbul and Ankara eventually. After making his way to Istanbul, he changed his name back to Süleymanoglu.

6. He is the first and only weightlifter to have snatched 2.5 times his body weight

Suleymanoglu is the first and only weightlifter to have snatched 2.5 times his body weight and also is the second of only seven lifters to date to clean and jerk three times his body weight.

He is the only weightlifter to date to clean and jerk 10 kilos more than triple his body weight. He is widely considered to have been the best pound-for-pound Olympic weightlifter of all time, and one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters ever.

He is regarded as a national hero in Turkey. 

7. Suleymanoglu tried his luck in politics but was unsuccessful

Though successful in sport, he tried his hand in politics thrice and was unsuccessful each time. At the 1999 general elections, Suleymanoglu 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 Kırac municipality in the Buyukcekmece district of Istanbul Province; he represented the same party in general elections in 2006. Suleymanoglu was unsuccessful in each of these bids for public office. 

8. His short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed “Pocket Hercules”

He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set 46 world records. At 147 cm in height, Suleymanoğlu’s short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed “Pocket Hercules”.

Suleymanoglu broke six world records in Seoul, and his total of 342.5kg was 30kg clear of his nearest rival. A national holiday was declared when he returned to Turkey, and a sports centre, park and street were named after him.

His unusual body proportions – his forearms were the same length as his upper arms and his torso the same length as his legs – gave Suleymanoglu the perfect physique for weightlifting. 

9. He never married but had four daughters from two women

He did not marry, but in a 2014 interview, he said he had four daughters born between 1991 and 2001. Three attended his funeral; the fourth lived in Japan. He is survived by his children and his mother. 

A Japanese woman known as Sekai Mori filed a paternity suit against Suleymanoglu in January, following Suleymanoglu’s death on November 18, 2018. A sample of the weightlifting legend’s DNA was taken after his body was exhumed in July amid the legal process.

The Family Court in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece district confirmed that Japanese national Sekai Mori is the daughter of Suleymanoglu. 

10. Suleymanoglu died in November 2017 aged 50 of liver failure and brain haemorrhage

Tombstone of Naim Süleymanoğlu in Edirnekapı Martyr’s Cemetery
Author: Myrat. WIKIMEDIA

Suleymanoglu suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. In 2009, he was hospitalized for nearly three months. On 25 September 2017, Suleymanoglu was admitted to a hospital due to liver failure. On 6 October, liver transplantation was made when a liver donor was found.

On 11 November, he had surgery due to a haemorrhage in the brain and subsequent oedema. He died on 18 November 2017 and was interred at the Edirnekapı Martyr’s Cemetery in Istanbul. 

He built up one of the sport’s greatest ever rivalries with Greece’s Valerios Leonidis which was followed avidly by Turkish and Greek communities across the world.