Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec has become a social media sensation for his nonchalance at the shooting range at the Paris Olympics.
A former officer of the Turkish Gendarmerie, Dikec combined with Sevval Ilayda Tarhan to win the silver in the mixed team 10m air pistol event on Tuesday.
However, it was the 51-year-old’s casual attire as he fired with his other hand in pocket at the Chateauroux Shooting Center that prompted the myriad of memes.
Photo: AP
“Be cool like Yusuf Dikec,” the French embassy in Turkey wrote in a post on X.
While most pistol shooters wear visors, chunky ear-defenders and shooting lenses with a blinder to shut out distractions and enhance focus, Dikec had only an yellow ear plug in as he hit the range.
His silver hair, intense gaze, normal glasses and a jersey that looked like a regular T-shirt intrigued many Internet users.
Photo: AP
Even the common practice among pistol shooters of firing with their non-shooting hand tucked in a pocket was seen as part of Dikec’s nonchalant charm.
Dikec is already back in Turkey and did not reply to Reuters messages seeking his reaction to his global fame, but teammate Tarhan said he has earned his overnight celebrity status.
“I’m proud of him, but it’s not that he does not have equipment,” the 24-year-old said on Friday. “He’s used to shooting with regular glasses and does not need extra gear. It’s a personal thing and he’s comfortable that way.”
The Internet cannot stop gushing over Dikec, who has not missed an Olympics since his debut in Beijing in 2008.
Tarhan agreed Dikec fitted the description of “cool.”
“But at the same time, he’s very warm to people close to him,” she said. “You can crack jokes with him, share anything with him.”
“I’m happy to see him getting the attention,” she said.
Dikec himself seems surprised, if a bit baffled, by the Internet storm.
“I didn’t anticipate such a level of recognition,” he told Turkish media on his arrival in the country. “Since I shoot with both eyes open, I don’t find the equipment very comfortable.”
And Dikec is not done with the Olympics yet, with Tarhan confirming they would be back hunting for the gold in Los Angeles in four years’ time.
“We were hoping to win gold here too, and we are among the best pistol teams,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll win it in Los Angeles.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS