Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec on going viral: It’s a big deal for my daughter

Dikec says the highlight of his fame has been what it meant to his daughter.

Turkiye’s Yusuf Dikec, who became an internet sensation during the Paris Olympics, posing with fans in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

He may have had an average day at the ISSF World Cup finals — exiting in the qualification round of the men’s 10m air pistol event with a modest score of 572/600 — but Turkiye’s Yusuf Dikec was still the centre of attention for the spectators at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.

The 51-year-old, who admitted he was not at his best owing to a cold he had picked up after arriving in Delhi, has faced countless media requests and has been mobbed for selfies during his time at the range. All the picture-seekers want the same thing:

The pose.

To his credit, Dikec obliges. He sticks one hand in his pocket and stretches his other shooting hand into a pistol shape in front of him. Even in the selfies, he maintains the same focused expression as when he is shooting, with only the faintest hint of a smile.

This has been Dikec’s experience almost every time he has moved around in public over the past few weeks. It all started two months ago, when he became an unexpected viral sensation on social media during the Paris Olympics. In contrast to his opponents, who used visors and telescopic sights to aid their performance, the silver-haired Turk stood out for shooting without any such assistance.

The fact that he went on to win a silver medal in the 10m pistol mixed team event — Turkiye’s first-ever Olympic shooting medallist — only added to his aura. He became the subject of numerous memes and saw his social media following grow a hundredfold. Even Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), posted about him.

Now, two months after that breakout moment of fame, Dikec admits it can get tiring at times.

“It was enjoyable at first, but now it’s getting a bit boring because everyone is asking me to do the same pose,” he said in New Delhi in response to a question from Sportstar.

Dikec says he’s unsure why his pose became as famous as it did. It has been emulated by multiple athletes, including Mondo Duplantis, after he set a new world record in the pole vault at the last Olympics. It has also earned him recognition from world leaders. “I wasn’t trying to do anything different. I started shooting when I joined the Army at 28. I didn’t think much about the pose. It took a little while for me to get comfortable with it, but eventually I was able to shoot with both my eyes open, and I’ve always done that since,” he says.

Dikec says the highlight of his fame has been what it meant to his daughter. “It’s not a big deal for me. I’m the same person I was before all this. But it’s a big deal for my daughter. Suddenly, she realised I was famous and got to tell all her friends that Yusuf Dikec is her dad!” he says.

Though the recognition may eventually fade, Dikec is happy as long as it lasts — not for himself, but for what it does for the sport of shooting.

“I’m so happy to be in this position. Because of this, shooting gets to be famous, like football and basketball. Everyone knows all the footballers and basketball players. But it’s good that more people are getting to know about shooting,” he says.