THE usual admonishment for aspiring elite athletes is to always be a winner as nobody remembers who came in second.
That was shot to bits at the ongoing Paris Olympics when Turkish shooter, Yusuf Dikec, swaggered in to coolly shoot his way to a silver medal. No fuss, no fancy gear, but oozing loads of unwitting attitude in his nonchalant shooting pose; the kind of stuff that social media feeds on.
The 51-year-old is in his fifth Olympics, and along with teammate and Olympic debutante Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, captured Turkey’s first-ever shooting medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. In the process, Dikec became Turkey’s oldest Olympic medallist, a record he could possibly break in four years. He’s eyeing a gold medal for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Prior to the latest silver showing, Dikec has a successful track record. He has multiple national championships, seven European championship titles, and shot his way to two World Championship titles in 2014.
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Steady Aim
The single father of a daughter dances as a hobby, but held his poise and stilled his pose to fire off the victorious rounds in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition at the Paris Olympics.
Unlike many athletes who rely on the latest technological wizardry to give them every advantage possible, Dikec opted for casual togs. No special eyewear to stay focused, he prefers to shoot with both eyes open.
While his pose — free hand in his trouser pocket — smacks of cool, he’s still nervous on the inside, he revealed in interviews.
His partner, who also struck a similar pose and wore a similar tee shirt, but opted for eyewear and ear protection, is a 24-year-old who, one would have thought, would have more appeal to the TikTok generation.
But hers has become a supporting role, which annoyed folks in some quarters, wondering why their gender was being marginalised in this global story.
Exploited Exploits
Dikec’s sudden rise to prominence and his limited presence on social media, were quickly exploited by those who wanted to boost their own fictitious clickbait postings to a larger audience.
From fabrications about his life to images — cool and bizarre — the stories were being spun even as the web was lighting up with pictures of Dikec in his laid-back shooting pose.
Returning home to a hero’s welcome, Dikec’s story is one of perseverance and an athlete choosing a sport that can keep going for a long time. He could yet make it to the next Olympics. He would only be 55.
Social Media Hoopla
It also shows the unpredictable nature of social media. A 50-something man in a tee shirt engaging in the solitary sport of shooting isn’t something that necessarily stirs up global interest, unless it takes place in a mall or school.
In Dikec’s case, it’s his method of delivery that captivated the world. It smacked of attitude, which can be a strong selling point.
Dikec may have shot his way to an Olympic silver medal, but he’s struck gold in terms of viral global recognition. And it would give shooting even more prominence, which may not be ideal in certain circumstances when public safety could be compromised.
And, by the way, the Olympic gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team was won by Serbia’s Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunovic.
