People tend to categorize others into categories or groups to get an idea of how they are going to act. For example, if someone turns on the TV to watch Olympic shooting, they expect to see shooters like Damir Miketz: with helmets, special glasses and a firm stance.
But at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Yusuf Dikets broke this model. With a casual appearance, casual sportswear and regular glasses, he looked more like an office worker than an Olympic shooter. This surprised many, who did not expect someone so “unconventional” to win the silver medal.
To understand why this has caused so much surprise, we must take into account how we perceive others (what is called social perception). Expectations, what we actually see, context, our own lifestyle and relationships with others, and our personal condition ultimately influence our perception of others.
When we perceive a person, the first signals we use are verbal language and especially non-verbal language. If we focused on what the audience saw in Turkish athlete Yusuf Dikeç, we would have to talk about his straight but relaxed posture, calm and concentrated gestures. It is also important to note that he does not speak during competitions, although he could according to the rules of his sport. He remains in his workplace without invading the space of other athletes. None of this in itself is strange.
When we invent what we don’t see
In perceiving the information in front of us, it is important not only what is there, but also how clearly we can see what is there. If the distance between the observer and the person being observed is very large, then we will process this information by “making up” part of what we see. We would do the same if there was not enough light to see well, or if we had uncorrected myopia.
For example, if a viewer were to turn on the television in the background and look at the image of the Olympic shooting final from a distance during a long shot, they would not even notice that Dikiets is not wearing hearing protection; I would “augment” the information I saw to include aspects that were not there.
But also what people see means one thing or another depending on the context. An Olympic final is a different context than national or regional competitions. Thus, what might be normal for athletes in one event is not normal in another; not for the spectators. Perhaps our protagonist’s behavior would not have attracted attention in any other lower-level competition.
This is where expectations come into play and play a key role in how we perceive others. In this case, people expected to see a typical shooter in a typical Olympic final, but Dikets did not live up to this image. This caused “shock” or confusion (called cognitive dissonance) because what they expected to see (a gunman with a tense, professional look) was not what they actually saw.
Obviously, with all this information, each person perceives something different at each moment. An Olympic shooting athlete will not interpret what he sees in Yusuf Dikeche the same way as a basketball player or any other television viewer. And a stressed opponent will not perceive the same thing as a relaxed one; Perhaps a person who is stressed will become even more nervous when they see him so calm!
This whole process has consequences: how we feel, how we explain what is happening and what we hope will happen.
The excitement and this surprise led to the creation of many memes. On social media, some attributed his success to luck or something unusual (some even joked that he was a robot or had military training). But in the world of Olympic shooting, no one was surprised. Yusuf Dikets is a very experienced shooter, with five Olympic Games to his name, and his technique is well known and respected. For experts, his success was the result of years of training and not luck.
Let’s imagine that the protagonist of this story competed in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. What can we expect from Dikek? It is likely that people familiar with Olympic shooting, based on its reputation, would expect a similar outcome if it were kept secret. Viewers, however, probably won’t expect a repeat of the success.
Similar situations have already happened in sports. For example, when Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump by jumping on his back rather than using the usual techniques of the time. Or when Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history, took on giants like Michael Jordan. At that time, there were no social networks that could make his achievements go viral, as happened with Yusuf Dikech.
At the end of the day, what becomes clear about how we perceive people is that it is much more complex than just seeing. It selects what we see, processes it, and acts accordingly. We perceive it socially and not as an isolated physiological process.
The viralization that popularized Olympic shooting
But there is another element of the Dykek phenomenon that deserves attention. Why did the surprise and immediate memes spread across the networks so quickly? Yusuf Dikek’s Silver has become so viral because social media quickly spreads amazing and positive content like this. And also because information spreads very quickly among millions of people.
While Yusuf doesn’t fit the typical mold of an Olympic shooter, his virality has had positive consequences. He brought fame to Olympic shooting, a sport that many people did not know about. However, this is unlikely to change the image of the shooter that most people have. Stereotypes are hard to break, and although Yusuf surprised, if nothing stands in the way, people will continue to expect “typical” shooters to emerge in the future.
As for his performance in the upcoming competitions, it remains to be seen how the pressure and expectations from millions of people will affect him. It will also affect whether you are perceived positively or negatively by your peers and the public.
But, as always, your success will depend on your physical, mental and technical preparation.