Turkish shooter's picture hitting silver medal with minimal gear at Olympics attracts global netizens

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) – Yusuf Dikec, a Turkish Olympic silver medalist who shoots without special equipment, has gone viral on the internet.

Dikec and his teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won the silver medal in the 10 meters air pistol mixed team competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday, after losing the final to Serbia 16-14, which marked the first-ever Olympic medal for Türkiye in shooting.

Dikec's cool demeanor at the event gained global attention.

Many global social media accounts reacted to the 51-year-old's photos and videos from the shooting.

His pictures even became the subject of a few caricatures and internet memes.

He also found his photos placed on several popular video game and movie posters as part of a trending joke.

Elon Musk, business magnate and CEO of social media platform X, responded to the Turkish athlete's shooting photos by writing "Nice" in his comments.

Dikec, a retired Turkish army officer, has previously won two gold medals in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships, one gold medal in the ISSF World Cup, and five gold medals in the European Shooting Championships.​​​​​​​