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Naim Suleymanoglu: the "pocket Hercules"
A weightlifter, who would dominate the sport at international level over the following years, was the one who not only did he gain distinction like no  other athlete in that sport in the Seoul Olympics, but also safeguarded the prestige of the sport in that particular organization.
Indeed, Naim Suleymanoglu or "pocket Hercules", as the Press representatives nicknamed him, due to his small build, with the performances he achieved and the gold medals he won during the 1988 Olympics, made people forget about the problems that arose during the weightlifting events. More specifically, two Bulgarian winners, and for a short time golden Olympic winners in the categories they competed, were found doped.
Suspicion after this disclosure hurt temporarily the prestige and the reliability of the weightlifting Games. Many people maintained that prohibited substances taken by the participating weightlifters was not a phenomenon limited to the case of the two Bulgarians, who were penalized, but concerned many other athletes not yet revealed. Such havoc was created that the Olympic weightlifting team of Bulgaria was forced to withdraw from the Games, in order to avoid the disclosure of more cases, something that would damage irreversibly the prestige of Bulgarian sport.
Notwithstanding this climate, the appearances of Suleymanoglu rescued the prestige of the sport and to a considerable extent the prestige of the organization as well. "Pocket Hercules" obtained the right to participate in the Seoul Olympics with the Olympic team of Turkey, after the Turks had paid the Bulgarians, with the team of whom he competed a few years ago, almost one million dollars in order for them to grant the needed permit for Suleymanoglu to acquire the Turkish nationality. Two years before that Suleymanoglu had escaped from Bulgaria trying to obtain political asylum and the Turkish nationality.
During the Games he became first Olympic winner in the 60-kg category setting extraordinary world records. He defeated his opponents so easily that with his performances he could have won gold medals even in the higher category, the 67.5-kg.
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