Yusuf Dikeç (born 1 January 1973) is a Turkish

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

who competes in the

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

events and won the world and European champions multiple times. He is a retired

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

of the

Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command () is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdi ...

and a member of Jandarma Gücü Sports Club. He has been subject to overnight fame and various

Internet memes An Internet meme, or meme (, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through social media platforms. Internet memes manifest in a variety of formats, including images, v ...

due to his casual attire combined with minimal equipment during the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in which he won a silver medal in the

10 meter air pistol The 10 metre air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 metre air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm (or .177) caliber air guns at a distance of , and that ...

mixed team event alongside his teammate

Şevval İlayda Tarhan Şevval İlayda Tarhan (born 4 February 2000) is a world and European champion Turkish Shooting sport, sports shooter competing in the ISSF 10 meter air pistol, 10 m air pistol event. She is the holder of the European women's team record and an ...

. Dikeç used the following expression in his life philosophy on the official Olympic page: "Success doesn't come with your hands in your pockets."

Early life

Dikeç was born in 1973 in Taşoluk village of

Göksun Göksun (, or , ''Koukousós''; or ; ) is a municipality and district of Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,942 km2, and its population is 50,676 (2022). It is near one of the sources of the Ceyhan River (ancient Pyramos), in the ...

district in

Kahramanmaraş Province Kahramanmaraş Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 14,520 km2, and its population is 1,177,436 (2022). Its provincial capital is the city o ...

. After his primary schooling in his village, he completed his secondary education in

. In 1994, he enrolled at the Military School of Gendarmerie in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. After graduation, he became a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

and entered duty in

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

. In 1999, Dikeç re-entered the Military School of Gendarmerie. After one year, he graduated with the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

serving in the

Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command The Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command () or JÖAK, is the police tactical unit of the Gendarmerie General Command. It has several missions which include counter-terrorist actions, underwater operations, hostage rescue, riot control, and ...

. He served one year in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, and then was appointed to Jandarma Gücü in Ankara, the sports club of the Turkish Gendarmerie. In 2001, he began sport shooting. Since then, Dikeç competes on the military national team as well as the national team. He was educated in physical education and sports at

Gazi University Gazi University () is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded in 1926 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk originally as the Gazi Education Institute (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Gazi Eğitim Ens ...

in Ankara.

Sports career

Dikeç became the Turkish champion several times and is the national record holder in different categories of pistol events. In 2006, he set a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in 25 m center-fire pistol event at the CISM Military World Championships held in

Rena, Norway Rena is the administrative centre of Åmot Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located at the confluence of the rivers Glomma (Norway's longest river) and Renaelva, Rena (a tributary to Glomma). It is located about north of ...

, scoring 597 points. Dikeç won the bronze medal in the 10 metre air pistol event at the

2012 ISSF World Cup Final 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He first participated in the Olympics in Beijing representing Turkey in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, at age 35, and competed again in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He qualified for participation in the 10 m air pistol men's event at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He also took part in the 50 m pistol event without advancing to the final round. At the

2013 European Shooting Championships The 2013 European Shooting Championships (25, 50, 300 m) were held in Osijek, Croatia from 21 July – 4 August 2013. Men's events Pistol Rifle 300 m rifle Women's events Pistol Rifle 300 m rifle Men's Junior events Women's ...

held in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, from 21 July to 4 August, he became double gold medalist in 25 m standard pistol and 25 m center-fire pistol. He took also a silver medal in the 25 m standard team event with his teammates

Fatih Kavruk Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

and Murat Kılınç and another gold medal in the 25 m center-fire pistol team competition. In the 50 m pistol event, he won another silver medal with his teammates

Ömer Alimoğlu Omar is the most common English rendition of a series of names, predominantly masculine given names, originating in a variety of languages. The name may have several different spellings in English, with variations based on the original language tha ...

and

İsmail Keleş İsmail Keleş (born 5 March 1988 in Ankara) is a Turkish shooting sport, sport shooter competing in the shooting sport#Pistol, pistol events. By profession an officer in the rank of First lieutenant at the Gendarmerie (Turkey), Turkish Gendarm ...

. At the

2021 European Shooting Championships The 2021 European Shooting Championships were held from 22 May to 5 June 2021 in Osijek, Croatia. 1,473 athletes from 52 countries competed. The championship was originally scheduled to only include events for shotgun, cartridge rifle and pistol ...

in Osijek, Croatia, he won the bronze medal with his teammates

Serdar Demirel Serdar Demirel (born 4 September 1983, in Sivas) is a Turkish sport shooter specialized in 10 meter air pistol events. He is the police chief of the public security branch office at Nevşehir provincial directorate of security. Achievements * 2 ...

and İsmail Keleş in the 10 m Air Pistol Team event.

2024 Summer Olympics and going viral

Dikeç and his teammate

won the silver medal in the 10 m air pistol Mixed team event at the

in Paris, losing to the Serbian team of

Zorana Arunović Zorana Arunović ( sr-cyr, Зорана Аруновић; born 22 November 1986) is a Serbian sport shooter. She won 10 metre air pistol event at the 2010 World Shooting Championships and was later named Serbian Sportswoman of The Year by the O ...

and

Damir Mikec Damir Mikec ( sr-Cyrl, Дамир Микец; born 31 March 1984) is a Serbian sport shooter. Biography Mikec represented Serbia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. He earned his qualification by finishing 6th at ...

in the final. He thus became Turkey's oldest ever Olympic medallist, at the age of 51 years and 212 days. In this event, Dikeç

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

for his "seeming nonchalance" and "noticeably casual vibe". While many of his competitors wore large, bulky ear protectors, visors, and high-tech shooting glasses, Dikeç, at age 51, wore a jersey that resembled an ordinary T-shirt and regular eyeglasses, with barely noticeable earplugs, and shot with one hand casually tucked in his trouser pocket. He was praised on social media for this unusual attitude towards a global sporting event. Dikeç was compared to

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

or a

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

on social media posts; ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' dubbed him the "Turkish

John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American media franchise created by Derek Kolstad. It centers on a neo-noir action thriller film series featuring titular character portrayed by Keanu Reeves. Wick is a legendary hitman who is reluctantly drawn back int ...

." Dikeç's casual appearance and his nonchalant pose became the subject of a number of

and were mimicked by other athletes at the Paris Olympics including

Armand Duplantis Armand "Mondo" Gustav Duplantis (born 10 November 1999), is a Swedish and American pole vaulter who competes for Sweden. Regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Duplantis is the current List of world records in athletics, world recor ...

Nina Kennedy Nina Kennedy (born 5 April 1997) is an Australian athlete who holds the national record in the pole vault. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, 2023 World Athletics Championships (shared with American Katie Moon) and at the 202 ...

and

Rojé Stona Rojé Stona (born 26 February 1999) is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw. He broke the Olympic record to win the gold medal at the Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw, 2024 Summer Olympic ...

. Dikeç embraced the memes, posting a compilation of them on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page. Following the 2024 Summer Olympics, Dikeç sought to register his shooting pose as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

in Turkey.

2025

At the 2025 ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany, he took the silver medal in the 10m air pistol event. He won the silver medal in the 10m air pistol solo event, and the gold medal with his teammate

in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, and the gold medal with his teammates

and

Buğra Selimzade Buğra Selimzade (born 9 November 1988 in Trabzon), is a Turkish sport shooter who competes in the pistol event. He is a member of the national team. Personal life Buğra Selimzade, was born in Trabzon, Turkey on 9 November 1988. He lives in T ...

in the 10m air pistol trio event at the

2025 European 10 m Events Championships The 2025 European 10 m Events Championships was held from 7 March to 13 March 2025 in Osijek, Croatia. Medal Table Total ISSF events ESC Challenge events Medalists ISSF Events ESC Challenge events Results Book * Senior: TBD * Junior: http ...

in Osijek, Croatia.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dikec, Yusuf 1973 births Living people People from Göksun Turkish male sport shooters Turkish non-commissioned personnel Turkish Gendarmerie personnel Olympic shooters for Turkey ISSF pistol shooters Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics Gazi University alumni Shooters at the 2015 European Games Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in shooting Shooters at the 2019 European Games Shooters at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century Turkish sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen Shooters at the 2023 European Games European Games silver medalists for Turkey European Games medalists in shooting Competitors at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Military World Games silver medalists for Turkey Military World Games medalists in shooting Shooters at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Turkey Olympic medalists in shooting Internet memes introduced in 2024