Heritage Academy Student earns Silver Medal at the Junior Olympic Rifle Championships
Gracie Dinh is a 16-year-old sophomore from West Point, who recently competed in Hillsdale, Mich. at Hillsdale College in the JORC, in the smallbore category, taking second place for her age group.
The Golden Triangle native finished in the top ten overall against all ages, and received a silver medal for her performance against the under-18 age group.
“I was very satisfied with my performance. I didn't shoot as well as I wanted to on the first day,” Dinh stated. “But coming back on the second day and performing to my potential made me satisfied with my performance.”
She wasn't the only one proud of her performance, and her in general.
Her father, Dr. Thu, has been proud of his daughter for years, and her performance was a culmination of that.
“I'm very proud of her. She was coming off a bad match, and showed the mental strength to come back and get the silver medal,” Thu voiced. “Her commitment is unreal, it's hard to put it into words. All the credit goes to her and her coaches.”
Dinh has a stellar group of coaches, with her head coach being Jimmy Cole, and another one of her coaches being a former Olympian, Lucas Kozeniesky.
Kozeniesky won the Olympic Silver Medal in 2021 at the Tokyo Games in the 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team Competition.
The first time that Dinh ever worked with Coach Lucas, he asked her what her goal was, with the reply from Gracie being, “To be the very best.”
Head coach Jimmy
Cole could not contain himself when talking about how amazed he has become with what Dinh has made out of herself.
“I've never had someone who works as hard as she does,” Cole said. “She's a remarkable young lady, and she's really developed her talent. She's come a long way to be who she is today.”
Cole went on to talk about what could be ahead for Dinh, even discussing the 2024 Olympic Games, which take place in Paris.
“If she doesn't get an invite, I would be surprised,” Cole said with a huge grin.
Dinh's list of accomplishments is long, including things such as being a three-time Junior Olympian, being the Stage Games of Mississippi Female Athlete of the Year in 2021, placing first in the Smallbore and Air Rifle competitions for the Junior Olympic State Championships in 2021, and being awarded the CMP 3PAR Junior Distinguished Badge.
This isn't the only area she excels in. In the classroom, Dinh is an outstanding scholar.
She possesses a 32 composite score on the ACT, is a Honors Student, and has the highest GPA in her grade at Heritage Academy.
“I've never been really satisfied with my grades until I got perfection in the classroom,” Dinh stated.
Inside and outside the classroom, Dinh is leaving her mark on the world, and there's more where that came from.
She has already qualified for two major events in the next 60 days, according to Coach Cole.
Dinh will be a name to remember, and is someone who has accomplished incredible achievements already, and she's only 16-years-old.