Turkish shooter becomes viral sensation at Paris Olympics

The world has lost its collective mind with one Turkish athlete becoming an instant internet sensation at the Paris Olympics.

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear prescription glasses and go without noise protecting ear muffs.

That’s how it is anyway with the newest viral sensation to come out of the Paris Olympics.

Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, 51, became a god amongst men on Thursday (AEST) as he sent the internet into meltdown.

Competing in the air pistol mixed team event, Dikec stole the show and it had nothing to do with his seriously impressive skills.

Instead it was images of Dikec looking like he’d just strolled in from the pub around the corner that caused such commotion.

Competitors in any shooting discipline in the Olympics tend to wear ear protectors and two lenses, one to avoid blur and one for better precision.

Not Dikec.

Instead he rolled up the line with one hand in his pocket, aimed his pistol down sight and nailed his shots as he and Şevval İlayda Tarhan secured a silver medal in the event.

How most athletes look in the shooting.

And then there’s this legend.

The internet had a field day with the images of Dikec as he became the latest instant meme to come out of the Olympics with one post racking up 48 million views.

Bleacher Report wrote on X alongside several images: “Turkish shooter Dikec Yusuf is a legend for this.”

LADbible wrote: “This is what you call aura. Looking like he just came out of the crowd and gave it a go … he just casually took home silver at the Olympics.”

EuroSport simply wrote alongside an image of Dikec: “The name’s Dikec, Yusuf Dikec.”

Joe Pompliano wrote: “I love how everyone uses specialised lenses for shooting to avoid blur and increase precision. But then Turkey sends out a guy who looks like he just picked up the gun for fun and wins silver.”

“We can't change what's done, we can only move on.” https://t.co/Hwq582ExNEpic.twitter.com/4LPmqrMwuC

— Mert (@WilfredTheBard) July 31, 2024

In Olympic shooting, they use equipment like:

> A lens to avoid blur
> A lens for better precision
> ear protectors for noise

Then a Turkish guy (Dikeç) came and won a silver medal with just a pair of GLASSES. pic.twitter.com/tobbeIifiS

— Turkish Archives (@TurkishArc) July 31, 2024

The 51-year-old Turkish shooter is competing in his fifth Olympic Games, with his first appearance coming in Beijing in 2008.

On Thursday however he captured his first ever Olympic Games medal after a decorated career with the pistol.

The final went down to the wire with Serbia producing a thrilling comeback to secure the gold medal.

Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec recovered from being down 8-2 to secure the victory with a 16-14 score over Dikec and Tarhan.

So while it was joyous scenes for the Serbian pair, Dikec can take solace in the fact he is now the internets new favourite athlete.

Originally published as Turkish shooter becomes viral sensation at Paris Olympics