SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Minutes after winning his second Olympic weightlifting gold medal, Halil Mutlu sent this not-so-subtle message to his intimidated rivals: I'm going to be tough to beat in 2004, too.

 Mutlu, undefeated and virtually unchallenged since 1995, repeated as an Olympic champion Saturday by doing what he almost always does -- winning by so much that the only real race was for second.

 Mutlu, so small at 4-foot-11 he would barely reach the waist of a Chinese basketball center, broke his own world records in the snatch, clean and jerk and total lift to overpower the rest of an overclassed field by 271/2 pounds, or nearly one-quarter of his 123-pound weight.

 He won so easily, the 27-year-old Mutlu, of Turkey, predicted his lifts would be enough to win again in 2004.

 Mutlu won with a total lift of 672 1/4 pounds, or 51/2 pounds more than his own world record of 666 3/4 pounds set in November. He was a pound off from lifting three times his body weight.

 Even Mutlu was impressed.

 "Who knows, I may not be competing in this class in 2004, but these results would be good enough for Athens," Mutlu said.

 Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria -- Mutlu's homeland -- was so happy to win the silver with a total lift of 644 3/4 pounds, he kissed the barbell after assuring himself of a medal. Wu Wenxiong of China took the bronze with a total lift of 633 3/4 pounds.

 Wu said what everyone in the Sydney Convention Centre already knew: A silver medal was the best than anybody not named Mutlu could achieve.

 "There was no pressure in this competition," he said.

 To win, Mutlu broke his own records set in last year's world championships in Athens by lifting 303 pounds in the snatch, in which the barbell is raised in one constant motion, and 369 1/4 pounds in the clean and jerk, in which the bar is raised to the collarbone and then overhead.

 He beat his record by a pound in the snatch and slightly more than 71/2 pounds in the clean and jerk, and said later he wasn't surprised he did.

 "Before I came here, it was said I should win again," he said. "Because of that, I felt I had to be an Olympic champion in these games. I was more confident this time (than in 1996) and so I was more excited."

 Known as the Little Dynamo -- OK, so it's not as catchy as "The Thorpedo" -- Mutlu isn't as well known worldwide as Turkey's Naim Suleymanoglu, the "Pocket Hercules" who goes for his record fourth Olympic weightlifting gold medal Sunday.

 However, even though he lifts in the shadow of what may be the best weightlifter ever, Mutlu has easily been the world's best for several years. He has constantly raised the bar -- or, in his case, the barbell -- by setting more than 20 world records in the last five years.

 Mutlu, who so idolizes Suleymanoglu that he followed in his footsteps by emigrating from Bulgaria to Turkey, wouldn't say he is better now than Suleymanoglu.

 "As you know, the greatest is Naim," he said.

 Sitting confidently in the corner of a practice room located about 100 feet off the weightlifting stage, he waited until all but one lifter had taken his three lifts in the snatch to take his first, and immediately took the lead by lifting 2861/2 pounds. He upped that to 2971/2 on his second before breaking his record on the third.

 That lift set off a flag-waving frenzy by the Turkish fans who dominated the less-than-full auditorium with their huge banners and raucous support.

 Chanting "Ha-lil, Ha-lil" as if it were an anthem, the Turkish fans gave Mutlu a home-court advantage that will rival that any Australian has in Sydney. And so much for no cheering in the press box -- among his most enthusiastic rooters were Turkish news media, who stood en masse clapping, cheering and rooting him on.

 He broke his clean and jerk record on his second lift, after first lifting 3521/2 pounds to assure himself of another gold medal. He broke the clean and jerk and total records on the second lift, then missed on his third lift at 374 3/4 pounds, the only one of his six lifts he didn't make.

 The United States qualified only two lifters in the eight men's weight classes and was not entered at 123 pounds.

 Because weightlifting's classes have been shuffled for the second time since 1992, every gold medalist in these games will set an Olympic record. Mutlu won in 1996 at 119 pounds.


 SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Results Saturday from the weightlifting competition at the Summer Olympics:
 Men
 56kg
 1, Halil Mutlu, Turkey, (137.5 kg.-302 pounds, 167.5 kg.-368 pounds), 305.0 kg.-673 pounds.
 2, Ivan Ivanov, Bulgaria, (130.0-287, 162.5-357), 292.5-644.
 3, Wu Wenxiong, China, (125.0-276, 162.5-357), 287.5-633.
 4, Zhang Xiangxiang, China, (125.0-276, 162.5-357), 287.5-633.
 5, Shin-Yuan Wang, Taiwan, (125.0-276, 160.0-353), 285.0-628.
 6, Sergio Alvarez, Cuba, (120.0-265, 155.0-342), 275.0-606.
 7, Adrian Ioan Jigau, Romania, (122.5-269, 152.5-335), 275.0-606.
 8, Vitaly Derbenev, Belarus, (125.0-276, 150.0-331), 275.0-606.
 9, Chin-Yi Yang, Taiwan, (120.0-265, 150.0-331), 270.0-595.
 10, Olexandr Lykhvald, Ukraine, (120.0-265, 150.0-331), 270.0-595.
 11, Hwang Kyu-Dong, South Korea, (115.0-254, 152.5-335), 267.5-589.
 12, Nelson Castro, Colombia, (115.0-254, 145.0-320), 260.0-573.
 13, Luis Medrano Toj, Guatemala, (115.0-254, 142.5-313), 257.5-567.
 14, Koki Tagashira, Japan, (112.5-247, 140.0-309), 252.5-556.
 15, Eric Bonnel, France, (112.5-247, 140.0-309), 252.5-556.
 16, Yasuji Kikuzuma, Japan, (105.0-232, 145.0-320), 250.0-551.
 17, Thandava Murthy Muthu, India, (110.0-243, 135.0-298), 245.0-540.
 18, Mehmet Yagci, Australia, (105.0-232, 130.0-287), 235.0-518.
 19, Orlando Antonio Vasquez, Nicaragua, (102.5-225, 130.0-287), 232.5-512.
 20, Gino Frederic Soupprayen, Mauritius, (95.0-209, 115.0-254), 210.0-463.
 21, Martinho de Araujo, Independent Olympic Athletes, (67.5-148, 90.0-198), 157.5-346.
 NR, Manuel Minginfel, Micronesia, -0.