Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikec has gone viral on social media for his seemingly casual attitude while shooting his way to a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics.

The most-shared images show Dikec shooting in a T-shirt with one hand in his pocket, a seemingly standard pair of glasses and an impassive look on his face. He’s been likened to a regular guy competing at the Olympics, or even a hitman.

The 51-year-old is no newcomer, though. He’s competed at every Summer Olympics since 2008.

Some memes contrast Dikec with his Serbian opponent Damir Mikec, who was wearing a blinder over one eye, a lens over the other and a large pair of ear defenders.

Dikec and Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won the silver medal in mixed team 10-meter air pistol shooting Tuesday. It was Turkey’s first-ever medal in Olympic shooting.

Mikec and Zorana Arunovic won gold for Serbia. The bronze went to India’s Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh.

Unlike Dikec, his teammate Tarhan was competing with large ear defenders and a visor, as well as braids in the red and white colors of the Turkish flag. She was shooting with one hand in her pocket, too.

Dikec was 13th in his individual event and is now done at the Paris Olympics. He’s looking ahead to the next Games in 2028, though. “I hope next in Los Angeles (for) a gold medal,” he said Tuesday.

Dikec seems to be embracing the trend, reposting a video compilation of Turkish-language memes about him to his Instagram page.

The shooting events were held around three hours’ drive south of Paris. Dikec and Tarhan made the journey to the French capital Wednesday, where they were greeted with cheers at the Champions Park, an open-air venue where medalists celebrate with fans.

More information: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/olympics/who-is-yusuf-dikec-turkish-olympic-shooter/507-86411adc-bbc0-4cc4-ad24-98c123a9ee60

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47 Comments

  1. This was me at age 13 turning up for state darts championship round when I'd barely been bothered to go all season.
    I came runner up + got three trophies at seasons end for top/perfect score.
    My older brother went every Saturday, he practice every chance he got whereas I did when I had a few minutes n he got didley squat. He still hates me to this day….I just turned 50. LOL! 😅🏆🥈

  2. Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, his partner, who scored more points than he did, and was responsible for their silver medal isn't receiving credit. As usual, a man is given credit for a woman's success

  3. His name is pronounced as “Dikech” and he scored 10.4 …. The gold winner Mikec scored 9.2 … it was their doubles partners average thar decided the gold and silver ; respect to both

  4. Hey, either you can shoot or you can't. All the fancy equipment doesn't make you a better shooter, just one who got used to working around the fancy equipment.

  5. Many Chinese pistol shooters and some S Korean shooters don't use any special equipment too. And they win many Olympic gold medals. Check out Xu Haifeng, Wang Yifu, Pang Wei, Jiang Ranxin.

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