Three-Times Consecutive Olympics Winner Halil Mutlu

Among the Turkish athletes who won a total of 104 medals (41 gold, 26 silver, 37 bronze) in the history of the Olympic Games, weightlifters Naim Süleymanoğlu and Halil Mutlu, who won three gold medals each, went down in history as the athletes who placed first on the podium the most. With the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Halil Mutlu, one of our old pride, became one of the names that came to the fore again. Well, let us tell you who he is.

Weightlifting Career of Halil Mutlu

He is also known as ''Dinamo'' because of breaking records consecutively. Halil Mutlu became three times Olympics winner, ten times European winner, and he broke over 20 world records in 52, 54, and 56 kilograms. Having the third gold medal of the Olympics, he became the fourth weightlifter to have three gold medals in Olympics. Halil Mutlu, who is 1.50 tall, is the successor of Naim Suleymanoglu in Turkish society's eye. He started his weightlifting career at ten with the help of his trainer İbrahim Elmalı. Yet, he had to take a break from weightlifting because of the pressure from Bulgaria. At that time, other Turks in Bulgaria were also emigrating due to pressures. Mutlu won his first championship at the age of 19 with a gold medal at the Youth European Championship held in England and won gold medals in 1996, 2000, 2004 Olympics. Unfortunately, he quit sports in 2008 at the age of 35.

Why Did He Quit Weightlifting at 35?

"I didn't quit weightlifting, the managers made me do it," Mutlu said about the situation. He was unhappy with the management at that time, and he kept being unfocused because of that. Mutlu emphasized that the doping process he went through in 2005 made him very tired, and he just couldn't continue after that.

Currently, Mutlu is married with two kids and tries to be in the management as he thinks the current management isn't for the job. His sons are also interested in sports, and they are doing fencing.