Turkish silver medalist Yusuf Dikec takes social media by storm

Turkey's Yusuf Dikec competes in the shooting 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. GETTY IMAGES

The 51-year-old athlete, from Kahramanmaraş, is no novice or amateur: he has competed in every Summer Olympics since 2008. Sixteen years later, he has become a meme for his casual appearance.

“It looks like dude just decided to join the Olympics when he woke up this morning,” many users commented on social media when they saw the emergence of this new idol: a veteran and down-to-earth shooter called Yusuf Dikec, who won the hearts of all spectators.

But before getting into the subject, we have to go back to the mixed team shooting competition. There, the images didn’t lie. They spread like wildfire, showing Dikec shooting with a t-shirt, one hand in his pocket, ordinary eyeglasses, and an impassive look on his face.

Taking advantage of his media boom, the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) jumped on the Dikec bandwagon. With this post, they seized the opportunity to promote their two main figures in the shooting world: the charismatic cyberpunk athlete, Kim Yeji, and the nonchalant Yusuf Dikec, pitted against each other like movie villains.

Indeed, the internet loved his laid-back style, and the memes quickly followed. He was compared to a spontaneous participant who crashed the Olympics or, in more extreme cases, to a hitman. However, that legend was quickly debunked: Dikec has an extensive professional career with a notable collection of medals.

Naturally, his casual style has led to thousands of memes. Many contrast Dikec with his Serbian opponent Damir Mikec, who wore the official eyepatch over one eye, a lens over the other, and large ear protectors, as well as a much more upright and professional pose.

The good news behind this great story is that Dikec and Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won the silver medal on Tuesday in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event. This achievement marked Türkiye’s first Olympic shooting medal.

Rifle Mixed Team - Mixed Silver Medalists Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec pose for a photo at Champions Park. GETTY IMAGES
Rifle Mixed Team – Mixed Silver Medalists Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec pose for a photo at Champions Park. GETTY IMAGES

It’s also amusing that, like Dikec, his teammate Tarhan competed with her hands in her pockets. However, she did so with large ear protectors and a regulation visor. Türkiye’s casual style naturally caused a sensation both on and off the sports stage.



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