PARIS — One of the unlikely viral stars of these Summer Olympics is a 51-year-old from Mersin, Turkey, who took up his sport, shooting, while serving as a corporal in his country’s Gendarmerie General Command. He's single, has a daughter and counts “dancing” as his hobby.
Yusuf Dikeç is in his fifth Olympics, and on Tuesday, along with teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, he captured Turkey's first-ever shooting medal, a silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition.
What has made Dikeç a global sensation, however, is a picture of him from the competition: pistol raised, standing in what appears to be a state of great calm.