Yesterday in Rio, 19-year-old Ginny Thrasher won the USA’s first gold medal in the 2016 Olympics; she won the women’s 10-meter air rifle finals to the excitement and pride of every American. Well, almost every American, the backlash from the left runs the gambit from droll to downright nasty and mean-spirited.
Ginny is a college student from Virginia who first shot a rifle while hunting with her grandfather, joined her high school rifle team, and was subsequently inspired by the 2012 Olympic shooting events to go for the gold herself. Ginny’s performance on Saturday morning was nothing short of outstanding and is being called an “upset” in that she out-shot a two-time Olympic gold medal winner.
Thrasher . . . was one of eight competitors to emerge from the 50-woman qualification round Saturday morning.She began her finals bid with a stunning bull’s-eye that yielded a perfect score of 10.9, eventually outlasting Serbia’s top-ranked Andrea Arsovic and China’s defending Olympic champion Siling Yi. Not that the 10.9 score gave her an extra jolt of confidence.“I thought, ‘Oh no. It is very hard to come back from a 10.9,’ ” Thrasher said at a news conference shortly after the competition.. . . . The final duel came down to Thrasher and Li Du, China’s 34-year-old who won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Thrasher, well, thrashed her veteran opponent by a full point, a wide margin in perhaps the Games’ most precise sport.
Her performance also “set a record of 208.0 at the air rifle event,” and she also set a record as the youngest woman to win the first gold medal of the Olympics.
Upon winning the gold medal, Ginny’s humility and grace were evident: “This is very special for me. For me to start out Rio 2016 with a gold medal for the U.S.A. makes me incredibly proud,” Thrasher said. “I’m happy to positively represent my country.”
While the majority of Americans appear to feel just as thrilled with her win for America as Ginny herself, there has been a surprising amount of venom spewed by those on the left. Well, maybe “surprising” isn’t the right word.
Here’s a sampling:
** A note on the title: yes, I know a rifle is not a gun, but I couldn’t resist.
[Featured image via WaPo]
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