Hurriyet Daily News reports that 50 year old Naim Suleymanoglu passed away.
This comes 5 weeks after he underwent a seemingly successful liver transplant surgery.
Best of Olympic Weightlifting
Best of Olympic Weightlifting
Hurriyet Daily News reports that 50 year old Naim Suleymanoglu passed away.
This comes 5 weeks after he underwent a seemingly successful liver transplant surgery.
The greatest weightlifter who’s ever lived. Made a difference while he was here making so many people happy. R.I.P Naim – THANK YOU.
So sad to hear this news particularly after the great efforts made with the transplant . I saw him on his international debut for Turkey at the ’88 Europeans in Cardiff , Wales where he was the overwhelming centre of attention. I even had a memento of the first 2.5 bodyweight snatch that he made there – the platform chalk-box that he used .It was subsequently knocked over and cracked and I salvaged it ! RIP – THE POCKET HERCULES
Died, and did not see no lifter to even came close on his Sinclar number.
No!
My sincere condolences to his family in Turkey and Bulgaria and his fans.
I saw him compete twice in person. First in Allentown, PA where he set his first senior world records in March 1983. The second was in Atlanta where he won his third Olympic Gold medal. RIP Naim
I saw him in 1995 in Switzerland where we went to compete in an intl Cup. There was the whole Turkish team Naim, Mutlu,Batmaz and so on. They were absolutely nice – I was so happy the have the opportunity to meet them!
Everybody mentions that he had the highest Sinclair but he also won 3 olympics and 7 world titles! The style how he did it was astonishing. Nobody even came close maybe Mutlu. Huge impact on my life – I am very sad to see him go.
So sad. I saw him at the European Championships in Cardiff in 1988 where he set a world record in the snatch. I remember him sitting in the audience in the seat in the row directly in front of me watching one of the other classes and thinking just how short / compact he was – but also that the man in front of me was probably the strongest human being, pound for pound, in the whole of human history. RIP Naim – you were the greatest.