‘I know a retired hitman when I see one’: Olympics fans love Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec’s casual swag
The Yusuf Dikec meme, also known as the Turkish Olympic shooter meme, celebrates the man who casually blasted the competition in the 2024 Olympics. His performance in the mixed team 10-meter air pistol shooting event on July 30 went viral for his blasé outfit and stance, winning the Turkish team the silver medal.
Dikec's lack of real protective gear during the shoot has led to comical speculation about his former profession and comparisons to his rivals.
What's a Yusuf Dikec meme?
Yusuf Dikec memes consist of jokes about him being a former Turkish hitman who was asked to join his nation's Olympic team at the last minute. This is due to his casual stance and expression during the event, in which he stood with one hand in his pocket and an unconcerned look on his face.
He also declined to wear the specialized glasses or ear protection typically donned by Olympic shooters, taking the shot in just his regular eyeglasses. Most sport shooters at this level use eyewear designed to assist their aim. The meme becomes even funnier when Dikec is compared to his high-tech rivals.
Fans have since Photoshopped Dikec into iconic movie scenes and made him the subject of many pieces of fan art. He's also been compared to other highly memeable Olympic shooters, increasing interest in these otherwise obscure events.
Who is Yusuf Dikec?
Those who pegged Dikec as a retired professional gunman of some kind were not far off. He is a former non-commissioned officer of the Turkish Gendarmerie—a military organization with civilian law enforcement duties. He began participating in sport shooting before he retired, setting a world record for the 25m center-fire pistol shot in 2006. Oh, and he loves his cat.
Dikec started his Olympic career in 2008 and has participated in every summer games since then. He earned his first Olympic medal on Tuesday alongside his teammate Şevval İlayda Tarhan.
Yusuf Dikec meme origins
The first viral social media post about Dikec appears to have come from the X.com (formerly known as Twitter) breaking news account @LogKa11, which posted a photo of the Olympian in his highly meme'd pose and commented on his lack of gear on July 31.
"South Korea sent a fully-kitted out player for the Olympic shooting," they wrote. "Turkey sent a guy with no specialized lenses, eye cover, or ear protection and got the silver medal."
The tweet soon went viral and led to the Turkish Olympic shooter meme.
Dikec responds
The medal winner noticed the memes, judging by his Instagram account. After his stance went viral, he recreated it in a photo on his Instagram account in his normal clothes and doing a finger gun.
He also reportedly reposted a video compilation of Turkish-language memes about his shoot to his account.
Meme examples
More Olympics memes:
- Steve Nedoroscik memes win comedy gold after stunning Olympics performance
- ‘Yassified Tinder’: People are joking about all the things the Paris Olympics logo looks like
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