by John Crean
ATHENS, Aug 15 (AFP) - Showman Halil Mutlu of Turkey joined the elite group of weightlifters who have won three Olympic gold medals with an explosive display on Sunday.
Mutlu, who stands just 4 foot 11 inches tall, clinched the men's 56kg division with a master class in power lifting despite missing out on two world record attempts.
The tiny Turk, who weighed in at 55.93kg after winning a battle to lose a kilo in three days, was in irrepressible form as he edged aside the opposition.
He took the gold with a total of 295kg with China's Wu Meijin, the reigning world champion at the 56kg weight category, lifting the silver medal with 287.5kg.
To round off a great night for Turkey, Sedat Artuc took bronze with 280kgs.
"I expected Wu to challenge me and I trained on the basis of what kilos I thought he would lift," said Mutlu. "There may come a moment when my co-athletes do better than me - then I will stop lifting.
"I lift with my whole soul, my heart, my whole self really. I love competing and I love weightlifting."
It was a remarkable comeback for Mutlu who missed the whole 2002 season while recovering from surgery after a bad injury.
A place amongst the legends of the sport drove him on and his victory at the 2003 World Championships, where he competed in the higher 62kg division underlined his intentions.
His compatriot Naim Suleymanoglu, who Mutlu hero-worships, and Greek superstars Pyrros Dimas and Akakios Kakiasvilis have all won three Olympic golds and Mutlu wanted to join their ranks.
"The two Greeks might leave this special group I am now in (if they win their fourth gold medals in Athens)," said Mutlu. "I will leave others to put me on a pedestal."
Mutlu swept to the front after an imperious, sometimes cheeky, display in the snatch division.
Before his first lift of 130kg he closed his eyes in deep concentration and after hoisting the bar above his head he flashed his trademark smile.
He was a bit cockier after succeeding at 135kg, sticking out his tongue. For his third lift Mutlu attempted 140kg, which would have beaten his own world record of 138.5kg. Surprisingly, for someone who lifted 147.5kg in the higher 62kg at last year's World Championships, he failed.
Wu, backed by a vociferous Chinese contingent, made up for a second attempt failure by hositing 130kg with his third lift to trail Mutlu by 5kg.
The Chinese had the chance to put pressure on Mutlu in the clean and jerk but missed two attempts at 165kg. With the gold medal in his pocket thanks to a lift of 160kg Mutlu tried for a new clean and jerk world record of 168.5kg but missed out.
Mutlu added to the gold won by Turkey's Nurcan Taylan on Saturday. She cried tears of joy on the podium after becoming the first woman from her country to win an Olympic title.
She stunned favourite Li Zhuo of China in the 48kg division with a world record breaking performance."