Speaking to NBC’s Dan Patrick, Thrasher said she was thrilled to get the usa delegation to Rio off on the right foot.
Advertisement
Shooter Ginny Thrasher pulled off an upset in the women’s ten-meter air rifle event Saturday morning.
Thrasher will be competing in her second event, the 50m rifle three positions, on Thursday, August 11.
Thrasher might want to volunteer for the first show and tell in class.
A figure skater growing up, she switched sports five years ago after a hunting trip with her family. They knew she had talent when she was able to make her first shot ever and Thrasher chose to try and hone in on her skills. I had to realize that all I could do was shoot the best I could with that I had that day. “They start the day after I get back”.
Sun was the pre-race favorite, having won gold in the same event at the London 2012 Games.
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995.
“A little bit of disbelief”, said Thrasher, who won the NCAA rifle individual title and helped West Virginia to the team title as a freshman.
Ginny was born in Rome, New York and her dad, Roger, is in the military.
– It was a bad start for 5th-ranked Venus Williams in Rio as she lost her opening match to 62nd-ranked Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
“I got my first deer and I liked the adrenaline of pulling the trigger”, she said. “I was just trying to shoot the best that I could”. She also landed in the 10 place at the 2016 ISSF Rio de Janeiro World Cup. She was the sixth qualifier from a field of 51. Moreover, she loves to read books.
Thrasher had a quick rise to the top. Despite the challenges, she remained focused and ultimately relied on her shooting ability.
The concentration and dedication is what makes Thrasher so great at her craft. Bronze medal went to China’s defending champion Yi Siling.
The United States captured three silver medals in the first four swimming finals held at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium but left Saturday without the taste of gold in the pool.
Instead, Thrasher became the first USA victor in the event since Nancy Johnson in 2000 as she scored 208 points in a new finals format. The 19-year-old won the women’s 10m air rifle title at the Deodoro shooting venue, holding her nerve to see off China’s Du Li on the final shot.
The youngest of the eight finalists by several years, Thrasher established an early lead after battling with the Russian shooter Daria Vdovina, who stumbled midway through the competition and finished fifth.
Advertisement
Thrasher stayed in the top spot as her competitors fell off, consistently hitting 10s despite a fan blowing an air horn at random times.
