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Turkiye Olympic Shooting Silver Medalist Becomes Viral Sensation With Casual Approach

Tom Dierberger

Turkey's Yusuf Dikec competes in the shooting 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre.
Turkey's Yusuf Dikec competes in the shooting 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre. / Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP

Look around at the air pistol competition at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and you'll find plenty of athletes decked out in trinkets and accessories—special eye wear with science fiction-looking lenses, protection for the ears and more.

But not 51-year-old Dikec Yusuf of Turkiye.

Yusuf, who competed in the 10-meter mixed team competition at Chateauroux Shooting Centre, showed up to the event wearing no accessories besides his regular glasses and competed in the event with one hand in his pocket at times.

It clearly worked, as Yusuf helped Turkiye advance to the final and claim a silver medal, falling just short in the finale to Serbia. But Yusuf's casual approach easily won over fans tuning in to the event.

Most competitors wear one lens to avoid blurring and another lens for better precision when aiming at the target. Yusuf didn't need any of that, and he'll proudly return home to Turkiye with a silver medal.

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Tom Dierberger

TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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