


Nicknamed The Pocket Hercules for his 4’10” frame, Bulgarian weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu was one of the world’s greatest in the sport. While he initially won 2 World Championships for Bulgaria, he later won 3 Olympic gold medals and 5 World Championships for Turkey. He has also joined the Nationalist Movement Party.

























Three-time Olympic gold medalist Bulgarian-born Turkish weightlifter Halil Mutlu has also been a 5-time World Champion and a 9-time European Champion. He also enjoys wrestling in his leisure time. He was disqualified from the 2005 Sofia European Championship due to a 2-year ban for testing positive for a banned steroid.




















Retired Turkish motorcycle racing star Kenan Sofuoğlu is a 5-time winner of the Supersport World Championship. A string of injuries, including a hip injury, ended his racing career. He later joined politics with the Justice and Development Party, or the AK Party, and represented the Sakarya Province in the Turkish parliament.



Emir Preldžić is a Bosnian-Turkish basketball player who has played for the Turkish national basketball team. A versatile player, Preldžić can play as a power forward, point guard, and shooting guard, although he predominantly plays at the small forward position. Emir Preldžić has also played for the Slovenian national basketball team.