Kudos to Turkish female weight-lifter Sibel Ozkan, 20 (she was born on March 3, 1988- the day before my 18th birthday!) for winning a silver medal for my father's country.
Ozkan's medal is the first one for Turkey. It was in the 48-kilogram (circa 90 pounds, I believe!) category. Ozkan lifted a 199-kilograms for the medal.
Turkey started becoming competitive in weight-lifting when male lifter Naim Suleymanoglu defected from his native Bulgaria during a time of social repression for Turkish Bulgarians in the late 1980s. Suleymanoglu went on to win gold for Turkey at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It was Turkey's first gold medal in 20 years, and Suleymanoglu became a national hero for his efforts.
Bulgaria's communist government was overthrown a few years later, and the few remaining Turkish Bulgarians now live there in relative peace.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com
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