With her aura and swag, it’s no surprise that this player from the Paris Olympics has taken social media by storm following her standout performance.
Kim Yeji, a 31-year-old sharpshooter from South Korea, won silver in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event at the Paris Olympics on July 28, with her teammate Oh Ye-jin taking the gold.
The Olympic #shootingsport stars we didn’t know we needed.
🇰🇷 Kim Yeji 🤝 Yusuf Dikeç 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/gfkyGjFg4I
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 1, 2024
The viral video in question is an older clip of Kim competing in Azerbaijan in May. It gained 10.8 million views on X (formerly Twitter) as of this writing and attracted a large following of new fans in just a few days.
The most "Main Character Energy" I've ever seen in my life.pic.twitter.com/ExuXVxB3VB
— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) July 30, 2024
Images from the sharpshooter’s Sunday performance at the Paris Olympics have circulated online, with people praising not only her undeniable skill, captivating aura, and iconic black Fila jacket paired with a cap, but also the stuffed toy elephant hanging from her pocket.
She was also praised by her fans for showing her softer side, with one tweet gaining 5.2 million views saying, “Omg, her daughter’s elephant doll was with her during the Olympics 🥹 Kim Yeji is MOTHERING.”
Some social media users are jokingly questioning whether she is real, as her performance seems straight out of a movie.
Elon Musk also joined in, commenting under the video, “Would be cool to have a shooting world champion in an action movie.”
Another aspect that has earned her fans’ applause is her nonchalant demeanor while breaking a world record. As one user tweeted, “THE STANCE she’s literally breaking a world record and so nonchalant with it.”
https://twitter.com/ArtsRayne/status/1818274188869968059?t=cfhV1TZ3bO15a3ddDpDfzw&s=19
Some are even comparing her to Satoru Gojo from the manga Jujutsu Kaisen because of her stance, while others are creating fan art inspired by her.
same pose. same aura. insane pic.twitter.com/2zX3iiorxT
— Michaela 🍓 (@Michisugussy95) July 30, 2024
In an interview at a press conference for the Paris Olympics shooting national team, Kim was asked about areas for improvement and responded, “There is nothing to improve.”
The sharpshooter also mentioned that the gold medal referred to by coach Jang Gap-seok is obviously hers and emphasized that she doesn’t feel any pressure, “I don’t feel any pressure at all. My confidence comes from a reason. It’s confidence based on a foundation.”
Kim is set to compete in the women’s 25m pistol qualification on August 2.
Aside from Kim, there’s another scene-stealer from the air pistol competition: Yusuf Dikec. The Turkish athlete, appearing casual and without any accessories, took a shot and ended up winning the silver medal. How cool is that?
Yeah, it seems like the Paris Olympics 2024 gave birth to some online stars.
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