RIO DE JANEIRO — West Virginia University sophomore Ginny Thrasher claimed the first gold medal of the 2016 Olympic games Saturday.
Thrasher, the reigning NCAA champion in air rifle and small bore, was assured of no worse than a bronze after her first three shots in the women’s final 10-meter air rifle competition.
She moved into second place after her sixth shot and was in the lead on her 11th.
Thrasher found herself head to head with China’s Li Du with one shot left and needing a score of 10.4 to secure the win.