Wearing his ordinary prescription glasses and striking a casual pose, Turkish Olympic shooter and Paris 2024 silver medalist Yusuf Dikec has shot to viral fame.
Social media has erupted over a photo of the Turkish Olympic shooter who appeared unfazed at his event yet still secured a silver medal. He’s been likened to a regular guy competing at the Olympics, or even a hitman, jokingly.
With his hand in his pocket and without any of the optical gear his competitors were using, Yusuf Dikec’s relaxed style set him apart in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event.
Dikec’s success in securing second place alongside his partner Şevval İlayda Tarhan, coupled with his apparent total nonchalance, has made him an internet sensation overnight.
“Turkey sent a 51-year-old guy with no specialized lenses, eye cover, or ear protection and got the silver medal,” said one viral post on X, which had almost 90 million views at the time of writing.
Most Olympic shooters use specialized ear protection and lenses to block vision in one eye and reduce glare, but Dikeç apparently didn’t need any of that and was just pipped to the gold by Serbian duo Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec.
Turkish Olympic shooter: I do not need special equipment
Dikec, a retired non-commissioned officer of the Turkish Gendarmerie, is no stranger to shooting: Paris 2024 is his fifth Olympics, having represented Turkey in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 beforehand. He also holds several titles from the World and European Championships for various pistol events.
“I did not need special equipment,” Dikec reportedly told domestic Turkish media. “I’m a natural, a natural shooter.”
Even official Olympic social media accounts have joined in celebrating Dikec’s remarkably relaxed style.
“The Olympic #shootingsport stars we didn’t know we needed,” it posted on X, referring also to South Korea’s Kim Yeji, who has captivated the hearts and minds of social media users as well.
Kim shot to stardom for exactly the opposite reason as Dikeç: the silver medallist in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event was hailed for her “main character energy” thanks to her full futuristic shooting sports gadgetry and impossibly cool composure.
This was after an older video emerged of her from the 2024 ISSF World Cup, where she made eye contact with the camera after breaking a world record, which soon went viral.
More social media users have been quick to join in the fun, creating self-referential memes about how you can’t use X without seeing Dikeç and Kim pop up; spoofs of popular films; and collages of the Turkish star spending time with his cat.
Others have superimposed pints of beer and cigarettes into the now-iconic picture of Dikeç, suggesting that he looked like he’d just popped to the Olympics after a drink in the pub, while more still allude to him being a secret agent.
