“Success doesn’t come with your hands in your pockets.” Well, unless you’re Yusuf Dikeç, who might just make an exception to that rule! Remember him? The Turkish shooter who went viral at the Paris Olympics—rocking one hand in his pocket, wearing standard glasses, and casually outshooting competitors decked out in high-tech gear. At 51, Dikeç led the Turkish team to a historic silver in the 10m air pistol mixed event, the country’s first-ever Olympic shooting medal. Pretty cool, right?

And after five consecutive Olympic appearances, you’d think that silver medal would be enough to make him call it a day. But nope, Dikeç is far from done. He’s still hitting the range, setting his sights on LA 2028—because why stop now when you’ve got the swagger to back it up? Right now, he’s in India for the ISSF World Cup Final 2024.

He didn’t make the cut in the men’s 10 meter air pistol, but his motivation is as sharp as ever. In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the Olympian has revealed a few more things on his future road map. In the tête-à-tête, Yusuf praised the no-age limitation rule of shooting sports.

The absence of such restrictions has made him continue without thinking about the gate pass to enter his trademark events. Moreover, because of the absence of such a rule, he can participate in the LA Olympics, scheduled to take place in 2028. “That is the best aspect of the sport. You can participate without worrying about your age and continue till you want to,” the shooter conceded on the subject. Notably, at the Paris Olympics, the participating athletes did not have to face any restrictions on the age parameter. 

Rather, the shooters had to possess some criteria to avail of the individual quotas. The first one was the Qualification Ranking for the Olympic Games (QROG). Under that criteria, the shooters had to possess “at least one ranking point achieved for each of the individual events they are to be entered for at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.” Another one came as the participation experience in at least two ISSF Championships, in the timeline of the qualification for the individual events in which the shooters were ready to enter the Paris Olympics. As of now, no announcement has come, changing the status of these rules. 

Therefore, from that perspective, Yusuf Dikeç has no barrier to entering the next Olympics. However, his fitness status may leave a question mark on the chances. Nonetheless, the veteran has stated that he has no problems with his fitness level. He ultimately laid out, “On a serious note, pocket or no pocket, I am looking to make it big at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.” Is that a warning to his opponents? Nobody knows. Yet Yusuf Dikeç has already established himself as a rock in the shooting sport.

Yusuf Dikeç continues to do what he does best—challenge stereotypes 

In the bustling French metropolis, Yusuf Dikeç rose like the mythological Phoenix bird. He gave his country its first Olympic medal in shooting. Moreover, he became Turkey’s oldest Olympic medalist in the meantime. Yet he is ready to extend his challenge. In this avenue, he wants to prolong his journey that once faced several major blows. 

Yusuf Dikeç’s Olympic journey didn’t start with a bang—more like a slow burn. Back in 2008, at his first Games, the then 35-year-old walked away empty-handed, probably with a bit of a long face. But fast forward to London 2012, and things looked up a bit. He finished 13th in the men’s 50m free pistol, which was an improvement, though still short of cracking the top 10. Tough luck, right?

But don’t let that fool you—outside the Olympics, Dikeç was crushing it. In 2014, he bagged two world championship titles (in the men’s 25m centerfire and 25m standard pistol events). And he’s basically the king of the European championships, having racked up seven titles. As for the national championships, well, let’s just say his trophy case is overflowing. Despite all that hardware, Dikeç is still laser-focused on snagging his big Olympic moment. Because for him, the story’s far from over!