(22 July 1996; Day 03)
In one of the greatest Olympic weightlifting battles, Naim "The Pocket Hercules" SULEYMANOGLU and Valerios LEONIDIS, set, broke and reset three consecutive world records in the 64kg finals. SULEYMANOGLU came out on top and in the process became the first Olympic weightlifter to capture three consecutive gold medals.
At the post-competition press conference, SULEYMANOGLU, reflecting on his achievement, announced he would not retire as expected, but was reluctant to predict another Olympic gold in Sydney.
The Olympic weightlifting competition in Atlanta has been as intensely competitive as any in history, with a world and Olympic record set in each of the three weightclasses which have already concluded.
Yet it was the drama of the day in which four world and Olympic records were reached by two athletes who in their careers had already set a combined 47 world records. The stage was set for the exciting final when SULEYMANOGLU lifted 147.5kg on his final attempt in the snatch to take a 2.5kg lead.
SULEYMANOGLU opened his clean and jerk with a successful attempt at 180.0kg as did LEONIDIS, the owner of the clean and jerk world record originally set in 1995 in Warsaw, Poland.
Then, with only the two of them remaining in the competition, the jousting began as each passed on a weight attempting to gain the upperhand. Behind a raucous crowd with equal Greek and Turkish contingents, SULEYMANOGLU broke LEONIDIS's clean and jerk world record as well as his own overall world-record mark with his 185.0kg lift to give him a two-lift total of 332.5kg.
Entering the contest with a 63.22 bodyweight, lighter than SULEYMANOGLU's 63.90, LEONIDIS knew he only needed to match SULEYMANOGLU's total score to earn the gold and the world record. In weightlifting since no ties are registered, both the order of finish and records are awarded to whichever athlete has a lighter bodyweight.
Seemingly with the gold medal in his grasp, LEONIDIS stepped onto the platform and rebroke the clean and jerk record with a mark of 187.5kg and moved past SULEYMANOGLU with each possessing one more attempt.
In a classic case of one upsmanship and with history on the line, SULEYMANOGLU did not let the moment pass as he secured his place in time with a 187.5kg heave that sent the crowd into ecstasy.
LEONIDIS, neither surprised nor dejected, moved into the podium as the hushed crowd held their collective breaths. Attempting an unheard of weight of 190kg, 7 kilograms above the original world record, LEONIDIS had one last chance to forever erase the years of second place finishes to the world's most famous weightlifter.
Yet, it was not to be, as he could only muster enough strength to get the bar to his waist before dropping it to the roar from the collection of Turks sitting to his left.
"I feel lucky to have competed against the best lifter in the world," LEONIDIS noted. "I don't feel disappointed," the gracious runner-up added. "I feel that the most worthy person was able to achieve the lift...I told him that he was the best and that he deserved the gold medal."
Sensing the magnitude of what was about to transpire, International Olympic Committee President, Juan Antonio SAMARANCH entered the venue just as SULEYMANOGLU was to attempt his first world record lift. At the conclusion of the competition, it was only appropriate that someone of SAMARANCH's stature recognized SULEYMANOGLU on the medal platform at the awards ceremony.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Brad Laux.
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| Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium. |