SYDNEY – Pocket Hercules, the most accomplished weightlifter in history, has been dethroned – and in a big way. Naim Suleymanoglu failed in three attempts to lift his opening weight of 319 ½ pounds. And was therefore out of the competition before it even reached the second half, the clean and jerk.

They call Suleymanoglu, 33, by his Pocket Hercules nickname not only because it is easier to pronounce but also because of the tremendous power he has packed into his 5-3 frame. He rose to fame after winning gold medals in the 1996, 1992 and 1988 Olympics.

Make no mistake about it; an upset of this proportion is akin to the Dream Team being upset by Australia.

Rumor around the weightlifting venue was that Suleymanoglu was having trouble making the 136.4-pound weight limit and had been trying to cut the weight all afternoon ahead of the 6:30 scheduled start to the finals. There was even talk that Pocket Hercules was not going to compete. If the weight-cutting rumors are correct – and the three-time champion did not stick around to talk to reporters so we do not yet know if it is true – that would explain the shocking performance.

In fact, none of the three attempts came even close to being a good lift. Suleymanoglu is one of the most popular persons in Turkey, where he owns 22 houses. Most of them are gifts from the government for his weightlifting success. In the raucous auditorium, every mention of Suleymanoglu name or a glimpse of him brought the huge section of Turks to frenzy. His failure bummed out a large section of the crowd. Nikolay Pechalov, 30, the current world-record holder from Croatia, won the gold with a total lift of 716 1/4 pounds. In fact it was Pechalov and silver medalist Leonidas Sabanis, of Greece who provided the excitement for the night.

Pechalov set an Olympic record at 7:02 p.m. with a snatch lift of 318 pounds. It lasted 10 minutes. Sabanis came back on his next lift and cleared 324 1/2. But this was to be Pechalov’s night.