Ginny Thrasher Wins First Gold Medal of 2016 Rio Olympics
The United States garnered its first Gold Medal of the 2016 Olympiad on Saturday… but it wasn’t won by a swimmer, or a runner, or a gymnast. That first gold was captured by a shooter — a bright-eyed, talented 19-year-old girl, Ginny Thrasher. In fact, Ginny won the very first gold awarded in any sport at the 2016 Olympics, so she has become something of a celebrity. Watch the video below to see Ginny’s “Gold Medal Moment”.
Ginny Thrasher Wins 10m Air Rifle Gold Medal
Ginny shot superbly, starting off with a perfect 10.9 ace, and finishing the event with a 208.0 match total score, a new Olympic record.
Thrasher made history by winning the women’s 10 meter Air Rifle finals, outshooting top-ranked Andrea Arsovic (Serbia) and defending champion Siling Yi (China). In the final round, Ginny went head to head with Li Du from China, a two-Time gold medalist (2004, 2008). Competing in her first-ever Olympics, Ginny’s superb skills and positive mental attitude helped her overcome the Chinese shooter’s years of experience. Ginny told reporters: “This is beyond my wildest dreams. I knew it was a realistic expectation for me to get into the finals and once you get into the finals, anything can happen. For me, this year has been incredible.” Read More HERE.
Though still a teenager, Virginia “Ginny” Thrasher has risen to the very top of her sport. In April she won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Smallbore Rifle, securing her spot at the Rio Olympics where she won gold. Prior to that, Ginny won individual NCAA titles in both air rifle and smallbore as a freshman on the WVU Mountaineers shooting team. This girl is a genuine phenom. Congratulations Ginny — you’ve made your country proud. We also wish good luck to all the other Team USA shooters.
Thrasher Factoid: Ginny Thrasher was a competitive figure skater before switching to shooting five years ago after going on a hunting trip with her grandfather. Who knows — perhaps Ginny could have medaled in the Winter Olympics had she stayed on the ice.
Its reported she overcame someones fan blowing an air horn randomly during the event. Still fired a record score. Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!! and Congratulations.
Ginny…..you make all of us dads who taught their daughters to shoot proud.
You go girl! God bless lady shooters!