The Turkish shooting Olympian who went viral earlier this month for his cool, calm, and collected look as he competed in the Paris Olympic Games has finally spoken out for the first time about his new-found popularity.
Yusuf Dikec was the subject of a million or more memes in recent weeks after a screenshot of him shooting, with one hand in his pocket and no protective fear anywhere to be seen. Unlike other competitors, who wore everything from head gear to eyegoggles, Dikec won a Silver Medal in the 2024 Olympics wearing a Turkiye tee shirt and his regular glasses. The only protective gear he wore couldn’t even be seen; a simple pair of yellow earplugs. The photograph, which will likely go down in Olympic history, showed Dikec competing in the 10-metre air pistol event.
The 51-year-old shooter, who has shot at the Olympics before, just revealed that while he may have looked calm on the outside, “storms” were raging inside of him the entire time.
“I think my shooting pose represented the Olympic spirit very well: the fair play, simplicity, clarity and naturalness. That’s why it got so much attention,” Dikec said.
Dikec may not have won Gold, but he leaves the Paris Olympics with a new set of global fans.
Before the games ended, Great Britain’s Olympic athletic team mimicked Dikec’s pose, arriving and standing next to one another, putting one hand on their hip and pointing their other hand like a gun. The clip went nearly as viral as the original Dikec clip. Several other athletes did exactly the same, too.
Dikec’s hopes of winning Gold haven’t ended. After securing his first-ever Olympic medal this year, the Turkish shooter is setting his sights to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
