ATHENS, Aug 12 (AFP) - Pint-sized Halil Mutlu will be in a bit of a sweat ahead of his bid to join the elite group of lifters with three Olympic gold medals.
The Turk, who stands less than five-foot tall, needs to lose a kilogram in weight before competing in the 56kg division on Sunday.
"I have a bit of a problem with my weight," Mutlu admitted before a training session at the Nikaia Weightlifting Hall on Thursday. "I need to lose about a kilo in the next few days - I am about 57 kilos at the moment. We (the team) are working on it."
Mutlu, nicknamed the `Little Dynamo`, won gold in different weight categories in the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games. He grabbed top spot in the 62kg category at the 2003 world championships but has decided to go down to 56kg for the Athens Olympics.
His compatriot Naim Suleymanoglu and Greek superstars Pyrros Dimas and Akakios Kakiasvilis have all won three Olympic golds and Mutlu wants to join their ranks.
"It would be fantastic to be up there with the greats of the sport by winning my third gold medal," he said, flashing a big smile. "I am feeling good and my training has been going well."