Paris Games 2024: Why this simple pic of an Olympics star is stunning sports fans and breaking the internet
- Photo of Olympic shooter goes viral after competition
- Yusuf Dikec, 51, shot for Turkey in the 10-meter air pistol
Olympic fans have been outraged on social media over a photo of Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec competing in the mixed team 10m air pistol event in Paris.
The 51-year-old and his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won silver, but it was Dikec’s unconventional approach to the competition that saw his image go viral.
Dikec rose to fame after a photo was shared on social media showing him fighting in an unusually relaxed manner, without the usual shooting gear and with one hand in his pocket.
Most Olympic shooters wear ear protection while shooting and wear special goggles that reduce vision in one eye, so that competitors do not have to keep their eyes closed. Sometimes some shooters also have tinted lenses to reduce glare.
“Turkey sent a 51-year-old man with no special lenses, eye protection or hearing protection and won the silver medal,” one fan wrote on X – to which billionaire Elon Musk responded with “Good job.”
“I know a trained assassin when I see one,” joked another.
“Did Turkey send a hitman to the Olympics?” asked another.
A fourth wrote: ‘Turkish government: This week we have a different kind of job for you.’
Turkish silver medallist Yusuf Dikec (pictured), 51, has gone viral for his incredibly relaxed preparation and attitude at the Paris Games
Dikec, together with his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, won the silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event
Some commentators joked that Dikec’s ice-cold display made him look like a hitman
Social media was flooded with comments like the one pictured above
Sports fans thought Dikec looked like he had won silver when he first arrived at the event, with no previous experience
Dikec is in his fifth Olympic Games and he and his partner narrowly missed out on the gold medal with a final score of 16-14.
The viral photo emerged after South Korea’s Kim Ye-ji was named “the coolest person ever” during her photoshoot.
The 31-year-old pistol shooter won a silver medal in the women’s 10m air pistol on Sunday, just behind her compatriot Oh Ye-jin.
But it was Kim’s style and precision that impressed viewers most of all.
Kim was widely described as “tough” as she wore special shooting glasses and a white baseball cap while holding her daughter’s stuffed elephant in her non-shooting hand.
South Korea’s Kim Ye-ji will be at the Olympics on Sunday. She went viral this week for her lack of reaction after winning gold and setting a world record in May
Since Kim won her first Olympic medal on Sunday, footage of her in action at the World Shooting Championships in Baku in May has gone viral on social media.
The video in question shows Kim winning gold in the 25-meter pistol competition in Baku, setting a new world record.
One viewer commented on the viral video, “This is the coolest thing anyone has ever seen breaking a world record.”
Another replied: ‘This is the coldest s***. I’m obsessed’
A third comment read: ‘And she’s so nonchalant about it, oh, she’s the coolest lead character ever.’