A 51-year-old Turkish shooter, Yusuf Dikec, bagged a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition in the Paris Olympics 2024 on Tuesday and then went viral for his casual look during the event.

Photos of him competing with minimal gear in the competition were widely shared.

The image has inspired some terrific memes online, according to international media.

The Turkish Olympic shooting silver medallist said on Thursday he was unfazed by his new-found fame, after his casual style with no headwear and one hand in his pocket made him an overnight Internet sensation, AFP reported.

Yusuf Dikec and partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won silver on July 30 for Turkey in the mixed team 10m air pistol, losing to Serbia in the gold medal match. 

However, it was Turkey’s first-ever medal in Olympic shooting.

The 51-year-old is no newcomer, though. He has competed at every Summer Olympics edition since 2008.

While his opponents took to the competition with specialized equipment – custom glasses to obscure vision in one eye, large ear protection and tinted lenses – Dikec wore only his regular glasses and had one hand in his pocket during his competition.

“I shoot with both eyes, most shooters do it with one. So I didn’t want all that equipment. Shooting with two eyes — I believe that it’s better. I’ve done a lot of research on it, so I didn’t need the equipment,” Dikec told Turkish radio station Radyo Gol.

“Shooting with my hand in my pocket has nothing to do with artistry. I am more motivated and feel more comfortable while shooting,” he said.

Afterward Dikeç provided an awesome quote about his skills, saying: "I did not need special equipment. I'm a natural, a natural shooter,” quoted by American sports magazine Sports Illustrated.

Turkish Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak congratulated Dikec on social media, posting a photo of him recreating his now “legendary pose."

Meanwhile, France’s embassy in Turkey wrote in a post on X in Turkish, “Be cool like Yusuf Dikec. Congratulations on winning the silver medal in such a cool way.” 

One social media user said of Dikeç, “Top confidence. A hand in the pocket. No specialized lenses, no problem. Too easy for him,” reported CNN.

The photos of the 51 year-old went viral – not least because of the stark comparison to pictures of Olympic shooting superstar Kim Ye-ji, whose confident demeanor and dramatic stance have brought praise on social media for her “main character energy.”

Kim won silver in the 10-meter air pistol event on Sunday, with her 19-year-old teammate Oh Ye Jin taking the gold.

Wearing her black South Korea uniform zipped up to the neck, a baseball hat and wire-rimmed shooting glasses, 31-year-old Kim was almost preternaturally calm in videos showing her and her teammate locking up the top two shooting scores in Paris.

After her win, a 27-second clip showing Kim with the same ultra-calm manner taking aim, shooting her weapon and checking her record-breaking score went viral.

Kim was quickly declared “the coldest style star of this year’s Games” by style magazine GQ.