Long-time U.S. swimmer Dana Vollmer won 100m butterfly gold at the 2012 Olympic Games, followed by bronze in the same event in Rio, however, the stars n’ stripes athlete is now unknowingly starring in an ad campaign for an entirely different country.
In what can surely only be filed under ‘the bizarre’, Vollmer’s image oddly appears on a national poster hung at the entrance of the Burhan Felek Pool in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey. Not only do the words ‘Powerful Turkey’ accompany the American’s image, but the U.S. flag appearing on Vollmer’s cap has been clearly digitally changed to a Turkish flag.
The posters were reportedly created by Turkey’s Youth and Sports Ministry, who has already been notified by athletes within Turkey that there is bafflement as to why a Turkish swimmer wasn’t used instead of an American.
You can see the image in its entirety here.
Vollmer just gave birth to her second son, Ryker Alexander Grant, less than 24 hours ago. Joining brother Arlen, Ryker was born at 3:15am on July 4th, weighing 6 lbs, 15 oz. Below is a picture of the new family addition:
Ryker Alexander Grant decided he loves fireworks & wants them on his birthday! Born at 3:15am July 4th, 6lbs 15oz! #USAbaby #mommaonamission pic.twitter.com/inQMxjefub
— Dana Vollmer (@danavollmer) July 5, 2017
A successful cap d’etat this time . Can you guys cannot see the political joke behind this ?
Too many cans there . I’m just sentimental about the ‘yes we can ‘ days. One thing to say about DJT is when i see a pic of BO it seems like a decade ago . Accidental or not it is a brilliant manouvre .
PR fail of the century…
No. Using borat music instead of the country anthem was worst!!
Why not instead feature Viktoriya Zeynep Güneş? Yeah, she came to Turkey from Ukraine and she isn’t an Olympian or a Gold Medalist like Vollmer, but she is a Junior World Champion! She’s the best modern Turkish swimmer! So lame that they have to Photoshop another country’s athlete into their ad when they have Güneş.
I don’t know why I’m laughing so hard…
My question is what happens now? They obviously didn’t get her permission. It’s pretty disrespectful to the athletes of Turkey. Plus, you can’t just grab images of the Internet.
somebody gets fired…. not sure if its worth it to pursue a lawsuit from Vollmers side (or wise)
Well she’s in the news twice today…
It is really strange that they wouldn’t use a Turkish swimmer like Derya Buyukuncu in their print media. The guy was a 5 time Olympian (including being their flag bearer), European Jr. Champ, Mediterranean Champ, 2x Big Ten Most Successful Swimmer, U of Michigan record holder, etc. Yeah, he’s probably 12-14 years older than Vollmer, but still… he’s actually FROM that country!
Oops, 6x Olympian