Three years ago, then-West Springfield High junior Ginny Thrasher was the 45th-best junior air rifle shooter in the U.S. On Saturday morning, the 19-year-old NCAA national champion stepped into the first medal event of the Rio Games — the women’s 10-meter air rifle finals — and did this:
GOLDEN GINNY! #TeamUSA's first medal. #TeamUSA's first #Gold! pic.twitter.com/Ew62Pl9svB
— USA Shooting (@USAShooting) August 6, 2016
Thrasher, a Springfield, Va., native who first fired a gun five years ago when she felled a whitetail deer while hunting with her grandfather, was one of eight competitors to emerge from the 50-woman qualification round Saturday morning.
by Nick Eilerson and Rick Maese