Sunday, November 19, 2017

Greece's Leonidis bids farewell to friend and rival Naim Süleymanoğlu at funeral

Valerios Leonidis, Greek weightlifting champion who was a friend and rival of deceased Turkish Olympic weightlifting champion Naim Süleymanoğlu, showed the true nature of sportsmanship once again when he attended the funeral of the "Pocket Hercules" on Sunday.

Among the dozens of fellow athletes and dignitaries at Süleymanoğlu's funeral, Leonidis stood out as he quietly approached the late weightlifter's coffin draped with a Turkish flag and kissed it. He was probably the only Greek national to attend the funeral and few recognized this 51-year-old former weightlifter from Greece.

Yet, it was Leonidis who inadvertently cemented Süleymanoğlu's fame as a record-breaker. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he and Süleymanoğlu were in the spotlight as two tough rivals expected to bring home more than a few titles.

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