Viral Olympic shooters Yusuf Dikec and Kim Ye-ji unfazed by internet storm
Turkish Olympic shooting champion Yusuf Dikec is not bothered by his sudden rise to fame. His laid-back look, with no hat and hand in his pocket, caught the attention of the internet, but he remains unaffected by all the attention.
Dikec and his teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan clinched the silver medal in the mixed team 10-meter air pistol event on Tuesday. They were defeated by Serbia in the final, settling for second place.
However, it was Dikec's stance that grabbed people's attention just as much as the outcome. The shooter was wearing regular glasses, a shirt with the team's logo, and had his left hand casually resting in his pocket.
Apart from his gun, he didn't have any of the fancy gear that athletes typically use in precision events, like headphones, specialized glasses, or a hat.
"Stay suave like Yusuf Dikec. We applaud your silver medal victory in such a stylish manner," stated the French embassy in Turkey in a social media post written in Turkish.
Users on the internet are jokingly calling themselves Dikec, Yusuf Dikec, in a reference to the famous character James Bond from the movies. Some memes even show him with a cigarette in his mouth to highlight his cool and laid-back attitude.
In an interview with Turkish channel TGRT Haber, Dikec admitted that he used the unusual method of shooting with both eyes open, while many other athletes typically shoot with one eye closed or covered.
“I have a unique shooting style that is not common. I keep both of my eyes open when I shoot. Even the referees are amazed by this,” he shared during his interview on Thursday.
He mentioned that winning a medal was expected because "we put in a lot of effort and dedication this year. This achievement is a result of the hard work of everyone in Turkey."
Achieving success requires hard work and effort, it won't just fall into your lap.
Some people on social media mentioned that Tarhan, the shooting partner in the mixed event, should also receive the same amount of attention. Photos showed that Tarhan also had a relaxed hand-in-pocket pose, although he was wearing headphones and a visor.
The Turkish Sports Minister, Osman Askin Bak, praised Dikec on social media by sharing a picture of him striking his famous pose.
Holding onto a Turkish flag and their medals, Dikec and Tarhan both rejoiced in their win at the Champions Park in the Trocadero area of Paris on Wednesday.
The surprise Olympic shooting sport sensations we never knew we wanted.
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Kim Ye-ji: The Star Shooter
At the beginning of the week, a sharpshooter from South Korea who won second place in the women's 10-meter air pistol event at the Olympics became very popular online.
Dressed in her black South Korean uniform with a baseball cap and wire-rimmed shooting glasses, Kim, 31, appeared incredibly composed in videos where she and her teammate achieved the highest two shooting scores in Paris on Sunday.
Following her victory, a short 27-second video of Kim maintaining her composed demeanor while targeting, firing her weapon, and verifying her record-breaking score quickly gained popularity online.
The clip, believed to have been initially posted in a Reddit discussion, actually depicts Kim at the Baku World Cup in May, not in Paris.
However, while social media platform X identified some posts as misleading for sharing the video without proper context, it did not stop the video from circulating on the internet along with pictures of Kim in Paris.
Kim was quickly named as the most fashionable athlete of this year's Games by the style publication GQ.
GQ reported that the new Olympian appeared on the shooting range at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre dressed in modern sportswear, resembling a futuristic assassin.
A video was posted declaring Kim to have the most captivating presence and received over 28 million views within 24 hours.
The video has inspired fan-made artwork featuring Kim, various edits with K-pop music, and numerous memes, with some focusing on her distinct "aura".
Kim, currently holding the top spot in the women’s 10-meter air pistol and fourth place in the 25-meter pistol, will be participating in another shooting competition in Paris this week.
Kim excels in the 25-meter event, which is her strong suit. Fans will have the opportunity to see her compete in the preliminaries on Friday and then in the finals the next day.
"I always believe in myself. ... I, Kim Ye-ji, am determined to win the gold medal, no matter what," she told the press.
Kim, who says she enjoys sleeping in her free time, shared with the South Korean press that she can't wait to catch up with her five-year-old daughter once her schedule clears up.
When Kim was asked about her newfound popularity on the internet, she joyfully replied: "I believe I have gained some level of fame now."
