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Shooting – American teenager Thrasher wins first gold of Games

Thrasher easily qualified for the finals, then on her first shot in the final, she recorded a ideal 10.9 and was on her way to winning the gold. Yi Siling of China took bronze. 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.

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“There was never a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, you’re really good at this”.

This is the first Olympics for Thrasher.

In the gym, the American women looked almost unstoppable, nearly sweeping the qualifying events as a team – with Simone Biles and Aly Raisman securing a spot in the individual all-around competition. Eight shooters advanced, and Thrasher was sixth with a 416.3 score.

“I knew something was going on”, said Sue Scherer, Sarah’s mother.

Thrasher, 19, delivered a steady performance to stay ahead of her competition scoring a 10.4.

The 19-year-old is learned to have started shooting just five years ago as a hobby after requesting her father to take her for deer hunting.

Thrasher’s triumph came before midday local time on Day 1 of the Games, putting the U.S. into an immediate lead in the gold medal count with the unexpected triumph.

Soon after, Thrasher joined the air rifle team at her high school in Springfield, a suburb of Washington.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams”, Thrasher said.

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Ginny Thrasher on the podium during the Rio Olympics. “Once you get into the finals, anything can happen”. Surely, a gold medal will buy her a skip day.

Shooter Virginia Thrasher Claims First Rio Gold For USA