If coolness had a face, it would be Turkish shooter Yusuf Dicek. Dicek, 51, who won a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris Olympics without any special gear and with his hands in his pockets, is now one of the most searched persons on the internet and the inspiration behind many memes.
Dicek, who returned home with teammate Sevval İlayda Tarhan after their Olympic triumph, spoke to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency about his relaxed pose that made headlines. “It was the pose I felt most comfortable in and could keep my body most still. Although I looked calm on the outside, there was a storm inside,” he said, adding that he had no idea that his pose would cause a stir. “I never thought it would cause such a stir,” he said, adding that he simply got into his pose and took the shot.
23 years of journey
The interest around Yusuf Dikek led to a wave of misinformation claiming he was a mechanic and that his journey as a shooter began after a bad divorce. Although his relationship status is not known, it is clear that his calm shot is the result of two decades of hard work. A former sergeant in the Turkish army, Dikek took up sport shooting in 2001. He is a five-time Olympian who also competed at the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games.
In his interview with Anadolu, he said, “People sometimes say, ‘It’s so easy, you won a medal with your hands in your pockets.’ It’s all visible from the outside, but behind this medal there are 24 years of hard work. I train for 4-5 hours a day, six days a week.”
Dike has previously won medals at the European and World Championships, the Mediterranean Games and the Islamic Solidarity Games. “What was missing in that collection was an Olympic medal. If it was gold, the collection would be complete. If I won gold at this Olympics, I would think about quitting,” he said. “I am very good, and Ilayda is also very good. God willing, we will win gold in 2028.”
An encouraging talk from your daughter
Dike told Anadolu about the conversation he had with his nine-year-old daughter Basak before leaving for Paris. “My only asset in the world, my source of life, is Basak. She gave me tips before I left. When I asked her, ‘How are you doing in gymnastics’, she replied, ‘I tell myself ‘Basak you can do it, you can win’. You do the same.'” The shooter said he spoke to his daughter a day before the Olympic shooting event. “Usually, I don’t pick up the phone to distract myself, but talking to my daughter motivated me.”
Basak said she was very excited to see her father perform. “I wished him success. I motivated him so that he doesn’t get upset about not getting first place.”
“Yusuf Dikek is just a name”
The star shooter said that an athlete needs to pay attention to his attitude, behaviour and lifestyle when wearing the national team jersey. “Yusuf Dicek is just a name and a symbol. I am very happy to be talked about as a Turkish athlete, not as Yusuf Dicek.”
He said the win will inspire Turkey’s young shooters. “I started the sport quite late, I started at the age of 28. Earlier, when we went to competitions in Europe and around the world, we considered reaching the final as success. Today, 24 years later, we are starting to feel sad about coming second at the Olympics. We have many young friends, they will overtake us. I am old, but we have shown that success can be achieved with hard work. What is important is not wanting something too much, but how much effort you put in to get what you want,” he said.
