This past March, Thrasher became just the second member of West Virginia’s rifle program to win both individual small-bore and air rifle championships, earning herself a spot at the U.S. Olympic trials in Fort Benning, Ga.
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China’s Du Li (R) and USA’s Virginia Thrasher compete in the women’s 10m air rifle shooting final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Shooting Centre in Rio de Janeiro on August 6, 2016.
What she lacked in experience, Thrasher made up for in work ethic as she continued to improve at an exponential rate.
Thrasher grew up in Northern Virginia and hadn’t fired a gun until five years ago. Andrea Arsovic of Serbia is ranked No. 1 in the world and failed to advance to the final.
Yi went out after a 9.8 on her final shot to earn bronze and Thrasher finished with a cumulative score of 208.0 to beat Li by a point in front of a rowdy crowd.
Congrats to Thrasher for lead Team USA’s charge in Rio.
“There was never a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, you’re really good at this”.
The 19-year-old had flown under the radar ahead of the Games but showed impressive accuracy to claim the title by one point with an Olympic record.
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Yi took a similar path as Thrasher’s, earning air rifle gold at the 2012 London Games just three years after starting her global shooting career.
