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First Olympic medal: USA teen Thrasher takes gold in 10m air rifle

Virginia “Ginny” Thrasher is the first U.S. Olympian to medal in Rio, coming from nowhere to win gold on Saturday morning.

A Virginia native and West Virginia student, the 19-year-old Thrasher was in bronze position after the first three shots, and moved into second after six. She moved into first after 11 shots.

Fellow American shooter Sarah Scherer made the final, but was eliminated after finishing eighth.

MORE: Full event replay

The eight-woman field for the 10m air rifle final was Elaheh Ahmadi (Iran), Li Du (China), Barbara Engleder (Germany), Daria Vdovina (Russia), Snjezana Pejcic (Croatia), Yi Siling (China), and Thrasher and Scherer.