About Halil Mutlu Halil Mutlu (born Huben Hubenov on July 14, 1973 in Postnik, Bulgaria) is a Turkish World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting. He is one of only four weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games. He won five World Championships, nine European Championships and broke more than 20 world records at 52 kg (115 lb), 54 kg (119 lb) and 56 kg (123 lb) combined. Only 1.50 meters (approx. 4 feet 11 inches) tall, Mutlu followed in the footsteps of his compatriot weightlifter Naim Süleymanoğlu. Like his idol, Mutlu grew up a member of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, profited from excellent coaching there and then moved to Turkey, where he took a new name ("Mutlu" means happy in Turkish). Arriving at the age of 16, he soon began setting records and winning titles for his new country.