Among the dozens of fellow athletes and dignitaries at Süleymanoğlu's funeral, Leonidis stood out as he quietly approached the late weightlifter's coffin draped with a Turkish flag and kissed it. He was probably the only Greek national to attend the funeral and few recognized this 51-year-old former weightlifter from Greece.
Yet, it was Leonidis who inadvertently cemented Süleymanoğlu's fame as a record-breaker. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he and Süleymanoğlu were in the spotlight as two tough rivals expected to bring home more than a few titles.
