American Teenager Virginia Ginny Thrasher Sets Olympic Record And Wins First Rio Gold For USA In 10 Meter Air Rifle Shooting.
The first Olympic gold medal of the 2016 games in Rio goes to a record-setting American girl with a gun – and the anti-gun crowd is already throwing a fit.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Thrasher said.
American shooter Ginny Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics, pulling off an upset in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event, considered by many to be one of the most mentally challenging sports in the games.
According to The Tribunist, Thrasher, 19, beat silver medalist Du Li of China in the final round with a total score of 208.0, setting an Olympic record in the finals. Du finished with 207.0. Yi Siling of China took bronze as the first medals in Rio were awarded. American Sarah Scherer was eighth.
Thrasher is an NCAA champion from West Virginia who is competing in her first Olympics. She wasn’t the favorite coming in as Du won the gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Andrea Arsovic of Serbia is ranked No. 1 in the world but failed to advance to the final round. Yi won an Olympic gold in the 2012 London Games.
Thrasher was not picked to even place by the Associated Press or Sports Illustrated, upsetting top ranked Andrea Arsovic of Serbia and defending Olympic champion Siling Yi of China. In the finals, the Virginia native was presented with quite a challenge to beat two-time gold medalist Li Du of China to bring the gold home to America.
Not only did Thrasher meet the challenge, she set a new Olympic record with a score of 208.0 points!
The accolades started pouring in from Americans everywhere including conservative radio host and 2nd Amendment advocate Dana Loesch:
Thrasher also got a high-five from Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, an ardent supporter of the 2nd Amendment:
Although the response was overwhelmingly positive, it wasn’t long until the liberal detractors started spewing their anti-gun rhetoric. There have been many more terse comments, both on and off the internet, attempting to detract from her accomplishment in the name of their anti-gun agenda.
Even her Chinese competition got in on the politics. “They have so many guns. It’s like doping for shooting,” said a member of the Chinese shooting delegation. “This is their national pastime. I think it would have been pretty embarrassing for them had they not took gold. It would be like us losing at table tennis.”In response, one commenter made these tongue-in-cheek predictions about Thrasher:
1. She will be placed on the F.B.I. suspected terrorist and TSA no-fly lists.
2. Obama, Hillary and Bloomberg will want her weapon confiscated.
3. She will be demonized by the media for promoting guns and violence.
4. Children will be suspended for mentioning her gold medal in school under the zero tolerance policy.
5. The anti-gun lobby will petition the IOC to have shooting sports removed from the games.
Long before Thrasher ever picked up a gun she wanted to become an Olympic figure skater. She first picked up a rifle while on a deer hunting trip with her father and grandfather only five years ago . . . now she’s a gold medalist.
Thrasher’s coach John Hammond praised the teens steely resolve saying, “When it comes to anything that’s a challenge, a test for a competitor in training, it’s very easy for her to dial in the concentration.”
The engineering major from West Virginia University said, “What’s most attractive is the mental side of the sport. Anyone can go in and shoot a 10, it’s not that hard, but to go shoot 10 after 10 at a big event is very hard. You have to master of the mental side, controlling your emotions, following your process and not thinking about the outcome.”
Thrasher became the first freshman to win both individual NCAA rifle titles and helped West Virginia win the team title. She followed that by winning the US Olympic trials less than a month later, earning a trip to Rio.
No matter what any naysayers have to say, Thrasher faced the challenge, brought home the Gold, and she has made America proud!
sources: Youtube, NBC Sports, Tribunist.com, Incredible World