“Did Turkey send a hitman to the Olympics?” On X (formerly Twitter), surprise, questions and montages are flying about the shooter of the Turkish team. At the same time, it must be said that Yusuf Dikeç did not seem particularly prepared to compete in a 10m pistol shooting event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Without contact lenses, eye patches, hearing protection or any other equipment than his glasses and earplugs, the 51-year-old former non-commissioned officer of the Turkish gendarmerie pocketed… The silver medal, with his teammate Şevval İlayda Tarhan in Châteauroux. Enough to set social networks ablaze for this grotesque character.
A graduate of the Ankara Gendarmerie Military School, he rose through the ranks in his country’s army, becoming a corporal in the city of Mardin, before serving as a sergeant in Istanbul. His sports career began in the 2000s at the Turkish Gendarmerie Sports Club of Jandarma Gücü in Ankara, where he was a non-commissioned officer. A career that would lead him to join the national military team before being called upon to represent Turkey on the international stage.
“I don’t need any special equipment”
“I have never needed any special equipment. My friends, and even other professional shooters, also ask me about it. I tell them that I am just a natural shooter and that is why I do not use many accessories,” the main person concerned confided to the Turkish channel. HT Sports after his victory.
Relaxed, hand in pocket, the man who usually works in a command center seems to have come straight out of a gangster movie during these Games. An atypical style that has earned him a nice increase in his popularity rating on social networks, he who was a complete unknown a few days ago.
While Westerners deride him by comparing him to a murderer, the 51-year-old athlete has become a true icon in Asia, where fan art (works reproducing a character or a scene) is multiplying on social networks.
This Turkish man was so cool that I had to sketch him. When I drew him, I realized how beautiful his posture is. pic.twitter.com/DAjEvKowDV
— Sakaki (@sakakir) August 1, 2024
Kim Yeji or Yusuf Dikeç, the choice is yours
Another darling of social networks, the Korean Kim Yeji, gold medalist in the 10m individual air pistol shooting, also stood out for her relaxed style this time, the complete opposite of her Turkish counterpart.
Right arm outstretched, left hand in her pocket, head tilted, cap, futuristic glasses… And her daughter’s cuddly toy hanging from her belt, the Olympic vice-champion has also become an Internet star during these Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In the individual tournament, Yusuf Dikeç failed to reach the final, finishing 13th in the series. Note the unfruitful presence of a Frenchman in the person of Florian Fouquet, who came 28th in the first round.