The onset of the Olympics has seen some eccentric athletes taking up the social media space and going viral all over it. From South Korean “badass” shooter to “James Bond of Olympics” aka Turkish shooter, netizens have gone gaga over their unconventional rendition at the game’s village in Paris.
It only took two minutes of picture-shot for them to gain popularity in thousands, overnight. But there’s a life beyond this fame that waited for them after they played at the Paris Olympics. Let's take a deeper look at them and their lives.
Yusuf Dikec:
Appeared usually relaxed, one hand in his pocket, in a white shirt and prescription spectacles, all exigently demanding attention, Dikec shot to fame in the week gone by, where he donned his pistol rendition with barely any gear on him; he had neither a visor nor blinders, lens or ear defenders (even though he wore very tiny ear plugs).
Yusuf Dikec won a silver medal in the men’s 10 m pistol event, in the same event where Manu Bhaker won Bronze.
The 51-year-old Turkish shooter is competing in his fifth Olympics. He has as many as seven European championship titles in his pocket and two world championships in the 25 m standard pistol and 25 m center fire pistol events.
A lot of memes surfaced on the Internet calling him a hitman, Turkish superman, Olympics 007, and many others. After winning silver in style he shared, “My shooting technique is one of the rare shooting techniques in the world. I shoot with both eyes open. Even the referees are surprised by this.”
He further mentioned, “Winning an Olympic medal was not a surprise, because this year we prepared a lot and worked a lot… This success belongs to all of Turkey.”
Stephen Nederoscik:
A pure epitome of unflappable attitude at the Paris Games is Stephen Nederoscik, who competed in the pommel Horse event and secured their first-ever Bronze for the USA, since Beijing 2008.
He rose to fame, because of his utter calm demeanor at the Games, quite in contrast to his teammates, celebrating the country’s first-ever men’s team medal at the Olympics.
He sat on his chair quietly, while the whole gymnasts team was celebrating. He competed merely for 45 seconds, secured a medal, and went back to sit on his chair, quietly.
Soon, his disposition was then compared to Clark Kent as netizens spotted that the bespectacled gymnast was sitting quietly.
He shared, “It went well today, I handled the nerves very well,” the 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts said afterward. “I worked my whole life up to those 45 seconds.”
He continued, “This is just another day of doing gymnastics. Sure it’s the biggest stage in the world. It only happens once every four years, but at the same time I’m putting chalk on my hands and doing the horse for the team, it’s nothing different,” said Nedoroscik.
Kim Yeji:
Kim Yeji’s exorbitant main character energy is laid back, as Dikec’s stance. She competed in the women’s 25 m pistol event with Manu Bhaker and won silver in the event for her country, South Korea.
Her shooting-fashion appearance; the choice of wearing a black cap backward, donning it with a black jacket with a stuffed toy bunny hanging out of her waist, managed to exhume compelling energies which left fans on social media awestruck.
According to the reports, the elephant stuffed toy- suspended off her waist belonged to her daughter. She has not seen her daughter since she started training at Jincheon National Athletes’ Village for Paris 2024.
She said, “My daughter will go to kindergarten and brag about me for going to the Olympics. And now she can brag about me winning a medal at the Olympics.”
Giorgia Villa:
In an all-round gymnast event, Italy won silver, and Giorgia was part of the team. She caught the eye, commercializing her sport in an advertisement for a rare type of Parmesan cheese that was only available in Italy a year ago.
She can be visibly seen doing a hamstring split pose on three giant wheels of cheese.
Villa, a 21-year-old started her gymnast practices at the age of 3, her mother signed up for gymnast training lessons because she had a lot of energy.
She said, “I had just started nursery school, but I immediately understood that I would love that sport with all my being.”
She continued, “I left school and, still wearing my pink apron, I couldn’t wait to enter that gym and jump and run feeling free and happy.”
She was supposed to debut back in the Tokyo Olympics; however, she sprained her ankle just a week before and never qualified.
Her second home to her since she was 11 years old is the Italian Gymnastics Federation’s International Academy of Brescia, where she trains.
Ilona Maher:
Maher was part of the American women’s Rugby team which secured a first-ever Bronze for the country in this category.
According to the reports, Maher is the most followed rugby player on Instagram on this whole Planet.
Her followers account for 2.5 million on both Instagram and TikTok. Maher has here and now been part of the dark targeting on the web, where she has been trolled for her weight and even called, “masculine”.
However, she has shared the most adorable meet-cute at the Paris Olympics, where she can be seen sharing pins with Simone Biles, and a video where she is seen goofing around with Snoop Dog.
Maher before commencing her Olympics games in Paris, had requested her followers to be more considerate of athletes of all shapes and sizes.
She spoke, “As the Olympics officially start today, I want you all to take a look at all the different body types on display.”
“All body types matter, all body types are worthy, from the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, to a rugby player, shot putter, sprinter,” she said.
She added, “All body types are beautiful and can do amazing things, so truly see yourself in these athletes and know that you can do it too.”
She recently ended a video with a message to trolls: “I’m going to the Olympics… And you’re not.”
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