American shooter Ginny Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics, pulling off an upset in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event Saturday morning. And the best part? China’s Siling Yu earned the bronze.
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Thrasher, who is now an engineering student at West Virginia University, first showed off her impressive shooting skills when she won five medals at the 2016 USA Shooting National Championships.
“I didn’t really care much about the Olympics”, Thrasher told The Post last month, after she qualified for the US team. Not bad for someone who isn’t even out of her teens yet!
She was one point ahead of Du Li, who won a gold medal in 2004. Sarah Scherer, another American competitor, finished eighth.
Thrasher’s interest in the sport was sparked during a family hunting trip five years ago.
Here is a look at the medals that will be awarded each day of the Olympics. “About halfway through the final it became clear to me that I was in contention for a medal, but.I focused on breathing and taking it one shot at a time”.
She will have a new title when she returns: Olympic champion.
-WOMEN FIRST: France won the first rugby match at the Olympics in 92 years – and the first ever for women – beating Spain 24-7 to begin the six-day sevens tournament. Du kept trying to narrow the gap, but Thrasher made all her last four shots above 10.4 to claim the title.
The 23-year-old Chandela had secured an Olympic berth for her country by finishing third in the 10m Air Rifle in the 2015 ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea.
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“So much pressure for me”, said Yi.
