How shooting style went viral at the 2024 Paris Olympics
The Olympics has enabled two unlikely stars to enter the limelight. Could they be making their sport cool?
EVERY FOUR YEARS, the world collectively rallies around their respective TVs or computer screens to watch the fun unfold at the Olympics. And what a hoot it is! Unlike the World Cup or Six Nations, no prior knowledge of any of the sports is required to ensure an enjoyable watch.
In fact, itâs often the case that the less you know, the better.
This year, it seems that those who arenât familiar with the fine details of Olympics shooting (of which Iâd assume is the majority of the planet) have all become fascinated with the sport. And thatâs down to two contestants.
Read more of Esquireâs coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics:
All the Australian Olympic medals won at Paris 2024, so far
The Olympic Games and the power of an athleteâs âauraâ
The unofficial MVPs of Paris 2024, so far
Firstly, Kim Ye-ji. The 31-year-old South Korean pistol shooter went viral for her outfit after winning a silver medal at the 10m air pistol competition. Sure, there was the white cap, gorpy Fila jacket and slim tracksuit bottoms that give certified, badass energy (more on that later) but it was her daughterâs elephant doll attached to her hip that first caught the internetâs attention.
Then, videos of her competing at the Baku World Cup started circulating as its audience tried to understand what makes her so intoxicating.
Is it the way she calmy shoots her record-breaking shot?
Or how gracefully she puts down and discharges the weapon. Is it the flick of the blinder and tilt of the head that enables the icy glance to her score screen?
Is it a culmination of it all?
Yes, it is.
Altogether, that 20-second sequence has her now labelled as a âbaddieâ and âthe goatâ, while her chilly demeanour has been noted as robotic and assassin-like, but not in a bad way. Itâs as if sheâs like Blade Runner 2049âs Rick Deckard if he had a penchant for The Matrix dress-code.
And as if one shooting star wasnât enough to get the world in a fluster, another appeared across social media feeds.
This time it was 51-year-old Yusuf Dikec who competed in the 10m air pistol mixed team match on Tuesday, with his teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan for TĂŒrkiye. They, like Yeji, also took home silver.
Dikec had a different sporting approach to Yeji. Veeeerry different, actually. While Yeji gracefully moved through the process as if it was a choreographed dance, Dikec seems as blasé as ever.
Dressed in his countryâs team kit and with his hand in his pocket, Dikec shoots without any of the aiding apparatus weâve got used to seeing (in the last week, to clarify). He doesnât have noise-cancelling earmuffs, no tinted lens to avoid a reflective glare. He doesnât even have any eye cover. He has the air of casualness that would make you think heâs going to pop into Sainsburyâs to pick up some milk on his way home.
But thatâs very much confidence, which has people joking about whether he does this for a living in a non-taxable way, if you get my drift. Which is exactly what X users did, as well as commending the man on his fuss-free aura.
Both of these contestants, for different reasons, evidently have an energy that makes them so intriguing.
And while their clothes donât directly influence that vibe, their newfound fame has brought attention to what theyâve worn in these moments. Yejiâs effervescence is so strong that a group of Redditors are on the hunt for her Fila jacket â itâs made custom, sadly. While @real_housewives_of_clapton dubbed a pic of Dikec as ânormcore final bossâ; referring to the early 2010s fashion movement that is (probably) in the process of/due a revival.
I highly doubt that Dikecâs look will be quite as covetable, but I wouldnât be surprised if both uniforms become popular Halloween costumes come autumn. But those neo-futuristic jackets at the Air Rifle contest… expect the street style set to debuting their interpretations imminently.
What does that say about a sport traditionally known in the UK for its culling of game animals and its ârahâ partakers? Well, that these two have made it cool, for this year at least. Which is slightly odd, really. Especially when rhetoric is pedestaling them as stone-cold killers. Theyâve even got Elon Musk commenting.
But hey, thatâs the Olympics baby!
An event that highlights unique characters and platforms their niche sports. Rest assured, with Yeji competing again this Sunday, I know what Iâll be watching.
This story originally appeared on Esquire UK
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