A dozen gold medals were at stake on the first day of competition hours after Brazil’s high-energy opening party featured thumping funk, sultry samba and supermodel Gizele Bundchen shimmering to the tune of “The Girl from Ipanema”.
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That’s the great thing about the Olympics: You never know.
Brazilians will have to wait a bit longer for their country to earn its first gold medal at their home Olympics after reigning judo champion Sarah Menezes suffered a shock defeat in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Who indeed, the Chinese must be asking. “For me, this year has been incredible”.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
She later joined the air rifle team at West Springfield High – her daily routine: figure skating lessons in the morning, then classes and shooting practice after school – before enrolling previous year at West Virginia, a shooting powerhouse that has won the past four NCAA championships. “I’m very thankful to be here four years later”.
In the final, each athlete had three shots in each of the first two rounds, and then two shots in additional eliminating rounds until Thrasher and Du were left in the ninth and final round. “I started to realize it was a real possibility about halfway through but I pushed that quickly out of my mind”. “I’m honestly not surprised”.
But by Thrasher’s last shot of 10.4, it was clear that not even perfection by Du would rob the American of the gold.
But officials threw Scherer a curve before the final, making her change her butt plate.
Zimbabwean Micheen Barbara Thornycroft said conditions were “probably the worst I’ve ever raced in”. “I couldn’t do that”.
Forget the fact that it’s the same butt plate she competed with in getting seventh at the London Games and the same butt plate that passed equipment check two days earlier.
“I think when I took the lead in the final I kind of realised that this is a possibility”.
Encouraged by vociferous supporters she eventually slipped off the pace to finish fifth. I’m happy with how I performed.
Sarah Scherer has had two operations since 2014 to fix three herniated discs in her back. She fell out of the lead before regaining it midway through the competition, and eventually held off a two-pronged Chinese charge from Athens champion Du, 34, and London victor Yi, 27.
There’s nothing wrong with competing in shooting sports, and Trasher should be praised rather than mocked online for her accomplishment.
American shooter Virginia Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics, capturing the women’s 10-meter air rifle. Thrasher also set an Olympic final record by posting a score of 208. The 2012 Olympic champion, Yi Siling of China, claimed bronze.
The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team began its charge toward a third straight gold medal with a 119-62 rout of China. “This is very special for me”, Thrasher said.
“I got my first deer and I liked the adrenaline of pulling the trigger”, she said.
Thrasher graduated from West Springfield High in 2015.
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Australia took the second gold in the pool as they won women’s 4x100m freestyle relay in new world record. “But it’s not what’s important”, she said.
