Multiple World and Olympic weightlifting champion Naim Süleymanoğlu has passed away at the age of 50 after having been placed into intensive care at the Ataşehir Memorial in Istanbul, Turkish media said Saturday.
* Süleymanoğlu scored a historic hat-trick of consecutive Olympic titles starting in Seoul in 1988 then Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. His exploits made him a national hero in Turkey, where he is regarded as one of the greatest sports personalities in the country's history.
Bulgarian-born Süleymanoğlu was admitted to the Memorial Atasehir Hospital on Sept. 28 due to liver failure caused by cirrhosis and underwent a liver transplant on Oct. 6. He remained in intensive care following a brain hemorrhage and underwent further surgery on Nov. 11, according to a medical statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered his condolences in his address at Justice and Development (AK) party's ordinary congress in his hometown Rize.
* President Erdoğan visited Naim Süleymanoğlu during his medical treatment at a hospital a few days ago.
Süleymanoğlu, who was nicknamed Pocket Hercules due to his 1.47 meters (4 feet 10 inches) frame, was the first ever weightlifter to claim gold at three different Olympic Games.
"He dominated the sport for over a decade and by the time he finished his career, he had set an astonishing 46 world records," according to the Olympic website.
Süleymanoğlu set a record with a lift of 190 kilograms (419 pounds) in the clean and jerk in the 1988 Olympics.
Although Süleymanoğlu set his first world record when he was 15, he missed his first chance at Olympic success in 1984 when Bulgaria joined the Soviet boycott of the Los Angeles games.
After winning the world championship in 1988, he retired at the age of 22. However, he returned in 1991 to win a second Olympic gold at Barcelona in 1992.
Four years later, he finally retired after winning a third Olympic gold in Atlanta.
In 2000 and 2004 he was elected to the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Olympic Order, the highest award of the Olympic movement, in 2001.
