Naim Suleymanoglu

Akakide Kakhiashvilis, so tired of war he moved to the country of his mother's birth, has worn three uniforms in four years, but the thread through all of this is that he has won gold medals in each. Kakhiashvilis, now lifting for Greece after winning at 198 1/4 pounds in Barcelona for the Unified Team and in the world championships for war-torn Georgia, set two world records in the 218 1/4-pound weight class in his gold-medal performance.

At least it helped somebody: The brawl after the Thursday's bout and a come-from-behind victory by the U.S. men's volleyball team over Argentina helped NBC gain its highest Olympic ratings so far, but the Games are attracting fewer United States viewers than expected. Wednesday night's telecast (Thursday in Seoul) in the United States drew an 18.1 rating, topping the previous high of 17.7 for Sunday night's show. In comparison, ABC's prime-time average was 23.2 for the 1984 Olympics.

Once again, Pyrros Dimas outlifted Marc Huster. This time, the only drama involved the world record attempts each made. Dimas, of Greece, won his second straight Olympic weightlifting gold medal--becoming only the 13th lifter to accomplish such a feat--by prevailing in the 182 3/4-pound division. Dimas set a world record by lifting 865 1/4 pounds with his best efforts in the snatch and clean-and-jerk. He set the previous standard of 854 1/4 pounds on May 5, 1995.

Two of the biggest names in Alpine ski racing were given the final approval Thursday to compete in next February's Winter Olympics, while a panel was set up to study possible penalties against countries that boycott the Summer or Winter Games. Skiers Ingemar Stenmark and Marc Girardelli were among 10 athletes cleared to compete by the International Olympic Committee's excutive board. The IOC said the cases of eight other athletes were pending until further documents were received.

Naim Suleymanoglu, the "Pocket Hercules" who defected from Bulgaria in 1986, stole the show at the Olympics today, shattering three of his world records to win the 132-pound division and give Turkey its first Olympic gold medal in two decades. The diminutive powerhouse, standing just 4 feet, 9 inches, lifted a record-setting total of 755.07 pounds to live up to his nickname and easily outclass his opponents.

Nebraska and Penn State remained 1-2 in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, while Alabama moved from fourth to third after defeating previously unbeaten Auburn. Nebraska (11-0), which can clinch an Orange Bowl berth Friday by beating Oklahoma, received 39 first-place votes and 1,526 points from a nationwide media panel. The Cornhuskers were idle Saturday. Penn State (10-0) got 22 first-place votes and 1,507 points after beating Northwestern, 45-17.

The finishing touch to Dale Earnhardt's sixth Winston Cup championship did not have much suspense. Earnhardt had the title won before the midway point in Sunday's season-ending Hooters 500 at Hampton, Ga., and spent most of the last half of the race watching Rusty Wallace, his closest rival in the points race, dominate and win the 328-lap event.

Naim "Pocket Hercules" Suleymanoglu needed but a few seconds to win his third Olympic title in 1996. Miguel Indurain was in the spotlight for three weeks this past summer while he struggled to finish 11th in the Tour de France, more than 14 minutes behind winner Bjarne Riis of Denmark. Yet Suleymanoglu, the extroverted Turkish weightlifter, and Indurain, the modest cyclist from Spain, had much in common. They were national heroes.

Defending champion Monica Seles pulled out of the Australian Open because of a broken finger Monday. Seles, who has never lost a match in Australia, has won the Australian Open four times. "I want so much to return to Australia, where I have so many happy memories and good friends," Seles said. "All I can do is look forward to 1998 with great anticipation." Seles broke her right ring finger in two places, the finger tip and the knuckle. The injury has kept her from playing since Dec. 4.