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WVU Shooter Wins First Rio Gold

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WVU’s Ginny Thrasher has won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics in the women’s 10-meter air rifle.

Virginia Thrasher

Credit Hassan Ammar / Associated Press
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Associated Press

Thrasher shot 10.5 on her first shot of the final elimination round and smiled after 10.4 on her second shot put her comfortably ahead of China’s Li Du.

Thrasher had a cumulative score of 208.0 to beat Du, a two-time gold medalist, by a point. China’s Siling Yu earned the bronze.

The 19-year Thrasher became the first freshman to win both individual NCAA rifle titles and helped West Virginia University win the team title. She followed that by winning the U.S. Olympic Trials less than a month later, earning a trip to Rio.

Thrasher is an engineering major from Springfield, Virginia and “owns more than 20 National Rifle Association and USA Shooting records,” according to the WVU Athletics website.