Shooting has been hugely entertaining at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Viewers tuning into the action at the Paris Olympics have been left stunned after discovering the size of one of the shooting targets.
Day nine of the 2024 Olympics has just began, and it will surely be another day of jam-packed fun and incredible sporting achievements.
Yesterday was certainly eventful as the boxer at the center of the gender eligibility row took to the ring for the first time since her controversial 46-second fight.
Elsewhere, Simone Biles continued to be the GOAT and bossed the gymnastics – could we have expected anything different?
The Olympics has also seen viewers becoming invested in sports they previously had no knowledge of, with one of the more prominent ones this time around being shooting.
Shooters Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç. (Turkish Youth&Sports Ministry / HANDOUT/Anadolu via Getty Images)
And after watching the action in Paris, many viewers have flocked to Twitter to comment on one thing… the size of the target.
“This is the Olympic air rifle shooting target size, where athletes stand 10m away from the target,” one person penned on the social media site alongside a photo of the target.
And the general consensus was that people couldn’t quite believe how small it is.
“No way it’s that small,” another commented, while someone else added: “It looked much bigger on the tv…”
One user joked: “Need a banana for scale.”
Olympic shooting target size. pic.twitter.com/bzjmN8qhDT
— NO CONTEXT OLYMPICS (@OlympicsContext) August 3, 2024
After realizing how small the target is, it makes the insane skill of the Olympic shooter who turned up with no specialist equipment and won silver even more impressive.
Yusuf Dikeç, 51, had been competing for Turkey in the Mixed 10m Air Pistol competition with Şevval İlayda Tarhan, 24.
According to the Olympics website, in this indoor event ‘each team member fires 40 shots and the five top-scoring teams slug it out for the overall honors’.
And while most athletes used specialist equipment in the event, Dikeç did no such thing.
The Turkish athlete simply sported a pair of regular glasses as he took aim with his hand in his pocket and his causal technique was applauded on social media.
You’d think the Olympian would have been at a disadvantage with a lack of technology, but he managed to keep his composure and score incredibly to bag a silver medal.
Yusuf Dikeç shocked viewers at the Olympics. (AA Team/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Speaking about his incredible display and unique technique in Paris, Dikeç told Turkish radio station Radyo Gol: “I shoot with both eyes, most shooters do it with one. So I didn’t want that 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.
“Shooting with my hand in my pocket has nothing to do with artistry. I am more motivated and feel more comfortable while shooting.”
