Turkey’s Olympic shooter goes viral after showing up with no specialist equipment and still winning silver

'I know a trained assassin when I see one'

A photo of Dikec’s unconventional approach was shared to social media as he competed in an unconventional and calm manner.

While most shooters use ear protection and wear special glasses that obscure vision in one eye so competitors don’t have to keep their eye closed, Dikec had none of that.

Fans flocked to X to share their thoughts on the 51-year-olds style: “Turkey sent a 51-year-old dude with no specialised lenses, eye cover, or ear protection, and secured the silver medal.”

Turkey sent a 51 yr old guy with no specialized lenses, eye cover or ear protection and got the silver medal pic.twitter.com/sFKcsRzvrw

— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) July 31, 2024

Elon Musk responded to the comment, simply saying: “Nice.”

While others joked: “I know a trained assassin when I see one” as another agreed: “Did Turkey send a hitman to the Olympics?”

Others thought the man looked like he’d rocked up to the games with no prior experience when in actual fact it is Dikec’s fifth Olympic Games.

He had not previously won an Olympic medal and made history as the pair won their country their first shooting medal in Olympic history.

Before he travelled to Paris he was adamant he would win a medal this time saying: "‘I think I will be able to handle this emotional intensity better. This will be reflected in my competition result. Because I have prepared really well, I will come back with a medal."

He and his partner narrowly missed out on the gold with a final score of 16-14.