Turkey’s Yusuf Dikeç didn’t need special gear to win a silver medal for Olympic shooting, and viewers couldn’t get enough of his understated brilliance.
The Turkish shooter took part in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team competition on Wednesday in a T-shirt and what looked like regular reading glasses, a contrast from other competitors who utilized specific lenses or bulky ear protectors.
“I shoot with both eyes, most shooters do it with one. So I didn’t want that all that equipment. Shooting with two eyes — I believe that it’s better. I’ve done a lot of research on it, so I didn’t need the equipment,” Dikeç told Turkish radio station Radyo Gol, according to a CNN translation.
He added that competing with his hand in his pocket makes him “feel more comfortable while shooting.”
Photos of the low-key competitor went viral alongside one of South Korea’s Kim Ye-ji, another crowd favorite, who had dramatically different energy to Dikeç with her “badass attitude” and futuristic-looking kit. Kim won silver at the women’s 10-meter air pistol event on Sunday.
In taking silver, Dikeç and teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won Turkey’s first-ever medal in Olympic shooting.
While he’s found breakout stardom this year, the 51-year-old is not new to the Olympic stage, having competed at every Games since 2008. He said he plans to go for gold at the Los Angeles Olympics.
His new fans from around the world flooded his Instagram comments.
“‘Nah boss I can’t come to work today, I have an Olympic match,’” one wrote.
“You are very famous in Brazil, in Internet. Everyone’s impressed with your simples and accurate performance. Amazing,” another commented.
“You made the biggest sensation in Japan,” said a third.
Dikeç and the shooting competitions as a whole also turned out to be excellent fodder for memes, and we’ve rounded up some fun ones here.
