One of the biggest internet sensations from the 2024 Paris Olympics has been Yusuf Dikec, the Turkish pistol shooter and silver medalist who captured international attention for his lack of ear and eye protection as well as a hitman-like stance.
Dikec immediately went viral, but it wasn’t just fans of the Olympics who were enthralled by his nonchalant performance. Word of the meme apparently spread to fellow Olympians, and after setting an Olympic record in the pole vault for Sweden, Mondo Duplantis had to pay tribute to the Games’ biggest new star.
Duplantis struck Dikec’s iconic pose after setting the record, which he would ultimately beat later in the same day as he set a world record and won the gold medal.
Iconic celebration
Armand Duplantis hit us with the Yusuf Dikec stance after setting an Olympic pole vault record #Paris2024 #Olympics #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/HnM9dxYwHQ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 5, 2024
It was the second gold medal for the Lafayette, Louisiana, native and former LSU athlete competing on behalf of his mother’s native country of Sweden, as Duplantis also won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Perhaps the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Duplantis added another accolade to his collection, and he was certainly having some fun with it.
