Turkish Olympic shooter aims to trademark viral stance

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s Olympic pistol sharpshooter Yusuf Dikeç has filed to trademark his nonchalant stance at the Paris Games that went viral around the world, his coach said on Sept. 1.

His coach Erdinç Bilgili said that the move to protect the commercial use of his pose with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office came in response to others trying to trademark it without Dikeç’s say-so.

"After being informed of numerous trademark registration initiatives carried out without Yusuf Dikeç’s knowledge, we submitted an application about a week ago," Bilgili said, adding that the "other applications have been rejected.”

Dikeç’s apparent sangfroid inspired a flood of memes online, some comparing him to fictional spy James Bond, while billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk shared a video of himself striking the stance.

His pose also became widely imitated among his fellow athletes since he won silver, Türkiye’s first medal in the mixed-team 10m air pistol, with teammate Şevval İlayda Tarhan.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson also copied it last week as he celebrated scoring against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League.

Various bits of memorabilia bearing his likeness have gone on sale, T-shirts, mugs and mobile phone covers among them, Turkish media reported.

In an interview with AFP at the beginning of August, Dikeç said there was a natural explanation for his hand-in-pocket technique.

"I only do it to keep my body more stable, to keep my balance. There's nothing more to it," he said.

His fame also inspired many people in Türkiye to take up the sport.

Turkish athletes won a total of eight medals in Paris, leaving the Olympic Games without a gold medal for the first time in 40 years. However, there were some positives at the Paris Olympics, which concluded on Aug. 11, as Turkish archers won the country’s first-ever team Olympic medal and 16-year-old Kuzey Tunçelli became the first Turkish swimmer to swim in the final of an Olympics.