Virginia Thrasher went through a three-week spring whirlwind, winning three NCAA titles and a spot on the U.S. Olympic Shooting team.
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19-year old Virginia “Ginny” Thrasher talks about gun control law controversies in the US during an interview in USA Today following her first gold medal win for Rio 2016 Olympic air rifle women’s finals victory. I have learned you underestimate Ginny Thrasher at your own peril. “I knew it was a realistic expectation for me to get into the finals and once you get into the finals, anything can happen”. The injury highlighted the dangers of a sport that steps into the world’s spotlight every four years and led some to question if the current scoring system is making gymnasts push themselves too far. Thrasher’s meteoric rise to this moment started with a pair of NCAA individual rifle titles while leading the Mountaineers to a fourth-straight overall title in March.
A figure skater growing up, she switched sports five years ago after a hunting trip with her family. The event in which she won gold is the first “international shooting competition” in which she has taken part.
She later joined the air rifle team at her Virginia high school – her daily routine: figure skating lessons in the morning, then classes and shooting practice after school – before enrolling a year ago at West Virginia, a shooting powerhouse that has won the past four NCAA championships. In April, she was named in the USA team headed to Rio. “Nevertheless, their impact has been undeniably palpable, harmful, and distressing, whether taken alone or in the context of the story of Hosszu’s return to competition and renewed determination in the sport she has always loved”.
South Korean archers once again showed their overwhelming dominance as they outclassed a consistent American team 6-0 in the final. When the she needed a 10.4 or better on her final shot to win, I had no doubt.
“So much pressure for me”, said Yi. “But I quickly pushed that thought away and focused on breathing, just taking one shot at a time”.
Thrasher stood her ground against the two Chinese shooters in the medal eliminations, hitting nothing lower than 10.4.
USA women’s teams picked up right where they left off four years ago in London, where American women won 63% of all US gold medals and 56% of all USA medals total. Daria Vdovina from Russian Federation hit straight good shots to climb to the top after 10 shots, but the 9.2 in the 13th shot pulled her down to end up the match at the fifth place. Du was Olympic champion in 2004 while Yi had won the gold in 2012.
More so, instead of being entirely proud of her victory, especially since she holds the record for being the first USA shooter to win gold medal, not to mention that she is now the youngest, she tends to hold back from time to time due to the fiery controversies back home, Hollywood Reporter reported.
“I definitely wasn’t the favorite but for me, I just wanted to go out there and shoot the best that I could. I also looked up and saw that Virginia and Du Li were doing well themselves”.
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“What she achieved as a freshman in college is as good as anyone in the last 10 years or more”, West Virginia rifle Coach Jon Hammond said. I have interviewed her several times since she arrived on campus in Morgantown.
