Thrasher was awarded the first gold of the Games by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.
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Chase Kalisz of the United States qualified fastest in the 400-meter individual medley preliminaries on the first day of the Olympic swimming competition.
Thrasher, who used some excellent middle rounds to shoot to the top of the standings, hails from the suburbs of Washington D.C. and has scores of medals from national competition, but in her last worldwide 10m air rifle competition, she finished ninth. “I was just trying to shoot the best I could for my first Olympics experience coming without any medal”.
James Jett (1989-1992) earned gold with the United States of America men’s 4×100-meter relay team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games before returning to Morgantown for his senior season with the Mountaineers.
The 19-year-old Springfield, Va., native knocked off Du Li of China in the final round with a total of 208.
“It was nerve-wracking. My heart was pounding but I would not have changed it”, Thrasher said.
Thrasher had a quick rise to the top. The West Virginia freshman is the youngest shooter on Team USA’s 15-member Olympic shooting team, and she just won national titles in air rifle and small bore shooting at the NCAA championships inMarch, the first time a freshman has accomplished thatfeat. Additionally, she is the second student-athlete to earn an Olympic medal while still enrolled at WVU.
She didn’t flinch at the sport’s brightest spotlight – or an air horn. “Time to take a break, ‘” Thrasher said.
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American Sarah Scherer made the finals in her return to the Olympics after two back surgeries, but was eliminated in the first round. The Americans opened with a 2-0 win over New Zealand. Thrasher moved ahead after the seventh and eighth shot.
