Paris Olympics: Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec makes second place cool as social media users draw parallel with John Wick

Published on Authored by Sudipto Maity

Legendary American golfer Walter Hagen had once said, “No one remembers who came in second.” Hagen isn’t the only one who shares and identifies with the sentiment. While for most parts, history has been generous with the firsts, there are also exceptions. One such is Yusuf Dikec, who is seeing his popularity soar with social media users likening him to John Wick.

Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec. Photo courtesy: x.com/Olympics
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec. Photo courtesy: x.com/Olympics

Dikec is a Turkish shooter, who won a silver medal at the ongoing Olympic games in the 10 m air pistol Mixed team category. His feat in Paris was a second-place finish. By the generic norms, Dikec shouldn’t have been remembered, but he has proved to be the exception. Dikec is a viral sensation and truth be told, he’s more popular than the people who won the gold in the same event.

But there are reasons that add to his popularity. To begin with, Dikec ditched the norms that most others consider a necessity in shooting — visors, ear-defenders and shooting lenses with a blinder — equipment that enhances focus. The 51-year-old athlete didn’t strap his body with shooting gears that others around him sported. He stood there, dressed in a white T-shirt, armed with only his shooting pistol. Before every shot, Dikec looked down, loaded his pistol, concentrated and took aim, as if he was shooting a target at a local fair.

This might be novel for those who haven’t followed the man’s career. But for his fans, this was Dikec’s usual game — him taking aim and shooting with his right hand, with the left casually tucked inside the pocket of his trousers.

Just hours after he emerged as runners up in the aforementioned event, the Turkish shooter went viral. With the salt and pepper hair reflecting his age, and the aura giving a sharpshooter vibe, people started to liken him to the fictional assassin played by Keanu Reeves in the eponymous movie franchise.

That the official X handle of the John Wick Chapter 4 also acknowledged the similarities and reposted a tweet with “Yeah.” adds to Dikec’s growing reputation.

A Facebook page wrote a backgrounder on the athlete, calling him a former mechanic who took up shooting following a divorce with his wife.

‘Dikec Yusuf, who only recently took up shooting after a particularly heated argument with his ex-wife, credits his success to his newfound passion for seeing his kids and a relentless drive to prove his ex wrong. “I never thought I’d be here,” Yusuf said, shrugging nonchalantly. “I was just aiming for a weekend with the kids.” The 52-year-old, who works as a mechanic in a small garage in Istanbul, first picked up a gun during a particularly frustrating divorce mediation. His unorthodox approach – no specialty gear, no training regimen, and a wardrobe consisting of his everyday jeans and a T-shirt – has baffled professional shooters. “He just shows up, shoots a near perfect round, and then asks if there’s a smoking area nearby.” After winning silver, Yusuf stood emotionless on the Olympic podium and declared, “Sharon, if you’re watching this, I want my dog back.’ read the post. Fortunately, the post also mentions that this is a satire. In case you find the story familiar, it’s because it’s based partially on John Wick, though the fictional assassin loses his wife.

Dikec is also not new to the sport and is a multi-time gold medallist in shooting, winning the top spot at the ISSF World Championships in 2014 in Granada, Spain, in both 25 m c-f pistol and 25 m std pistol events.