Weightlifter Reportedly to Defect in Australia

Authorities said Bulgarian weightlifting star Neum Shalamanov has vanished, and a local Turkish-language newspaper said Wednesday the athlete plans to seek political asylum in Australia.

The 19-year-old Shalamanov won the world cup competition in Melbourne on Sunday, his third title.

Australian weightlifting federation president Sam Coppa said Shalamanov had not been seen or heard from since Sunday night, when he attended a post-tournament banquet.

Mehmet Bahar, editor of the newspaper Hur Dunya, said Shalamanov was in hiding with Bulgarian-Turkish friends and was waiting for the Bulgarian team to leave Australia.

Bahar told reporters that Shalamanov wanted to escape persecution of Bulgaria’s Turkish minority by the country’s communist authorities. Shalamanov, who is of Turkish origin, changed his name from Naim Suleimanov last year.