Two silver-medal-winning shooters at the Paris Olympics 2024 have blown to smithereens the adage “no one remembers who came in second” with contrasting swag. And they would both fit neatly in a James Bond movie.
One, Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec, has been dubbed a ‘hitman’ for his no-fuss, minimum-gear style. The other, South Korea’s Kim Yeji, “should be cast in an action movie—no acting required!" as the billionaire Elon Musk commented.
Dikec and Kim are among the biggest Internet sensations in this Olympics. Many who now recognise them would not know the names of the shooters who defeated them to win Olympic gold medals.
Kim Yeji, 31, lost in the 10-metre air pistol event to her 19-year-old teammate Oh Ye Jin. But it was the uber-hip Yeji who the world gawked at.
“She’s impossibly cool, casually breaks world records and is the internet’s latest darling,” CNN wrote. “And while her cap and futuristic glasses are merely functional accoutrements in the world of competitive shooting, they wouldn’t look out of place on a street style-inspired runway.”
The New York Times reported that “Kim’s hand-in-pocket pose, the cyberpunk-looking lenses many shooters wear and her steely focus inspired fan art across social platforms.”
A video of hers from May 2024 soon emerged and set the internet afire. Dressed in a backwards cap, futuristic glasses and a black Fila jacket, Kim’s look was as striking as her performance. The video garnered over 7 million views on X and had over 1.5 million likes on TikTok, the social medium banned in India that is a rage in the US.
Before Paris 2024, Kim was already a formidable competitor. At the 2023 World Cup in Baku, she won gold in the 25m air pistol event. She also secured a silver medal in the 10m air pistol and a bronze in the 25m event at the Madrid World Cup.
But her distinctive style has become the stuff of cult status in Paris. Her glasses, designed to enhance precision and focus, look straight out of a sci-fi movie. A stuffed elephant toy dangling from her pocket has also thrown the virtual world into a tizzy.
Many new fans praised her “main character energy” and her seamless blend of style and performance.
No Dikec does not want his ‘dog back’
On the other end of the swag spectrum, Yusuf Dikeç, 51, won silver in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event while flaunting a shooting style as relaxed as a Sunday stroll – clad in a t-shirt and trousers, with one hand in pocket, no specialised protective eye gear or visible over-ear protection.
His style launched a thousand memes, including one with a juicy story about how he took up shooting after a messy divorce and wants his dog back. None if it was true, of course. For one, he’s a cat person.
Before his silver medal triumph at the 2024 Olympics, Dikeç’s journey in the sport was marked by impressive yet unfulfilled promise. He competed in four previous Olympics (2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020) but never secured a medal. Despite his extensive experience and several near-misses,
In Paris, he arrived in signature style. He joined X as @YusufDikeç and immediately ignited even more buzz when he cheekily invited Elon Musk to Istanbul for a chat about whether future robots could compete in the Olympics with their hands in their pockets.
Musk responded: “Robots will hit the center of the bullseye every time.”
Back in Turkey, Dikeç was met with a hero’s welcome that was anything but ordinary. The airport was transformed into a sea of Turkish flags, and he was adorned with a flower necklace.
His bio on X says it all: “2024 Paris Olimpiyatlarının kazananı Rahatlik ve Sadelik.” Translated by the platform itself, it reads: “Comfort and Simplicity are the winners of the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
Kim Yeji does not have an X account yet – at least not a verified one like Dikec – but we dare say her bio would have more flare and the same impact.
And If you see characters resembling Dikec and Yeji in the next spy-action thriller, please let us know; we’d like to apply for royalties on the idea.
