SHOOTING STAR WINS GOLD
Virginia Thrasher went through a three-week spring whirlwind, winning three NCAA titles and a spot on the U.S. Olympic Shooting team.
The precocious 19-year-old closed out the summer with her biggest surprise yet.
Keeping her nerve on sport’s biggest stage, Thrasher on Saturday earned the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics, outlasting two-time gold medalist Du Li to capture the women’s 10-meter air rifle title.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Thrasher said. “I knew it was a realistic expectation for me to get into the finals and once you get into the finals, anything can happen. For me, this year has been incredible.”
Thrasher had a quick rise to the top.
A figure skater growing up, she switched sports five years ago after a hunting trip with her family. Thrasher killed a deer with her first shot of her first hunting trip and has continued to hit the mark wherever she’s gone.
Thrasher was not expected to be among the top five scorers — all that counts in NCAA competition — at shooting powerhouse West Virginia, yet got better as the season progressed. She be- came the first freshman to win both NCAA rifle titles and led the Mountaineers to the team championship.
Less than a month later, Thrasher won the U.S. Olympic Trials, earning a spot in Rio.
She didn’t flinch at the sport’s brightest spotlight — or an air horn.
Though not expected to be a medal contender, Thrasher finished a spot behind fellow American Sarah Scherer at sixth in qualifying to make the eight-person final.
She opened the elimination finals — a new format in this year’s Olympics — with a perfect 10.9 and was in the lead after Scherer became the first shooter knocked out.
Don’t drink it in
After all the talk about staying out of the water in Rio, Serbian rowers Milos Vasic and Nenad Benik found themselves immersed in it on day one of the Olympic regatta.
The Serb pair capsized — which rarely happens in elite rowing events — in the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon as choppy waters left athletes struggling to stay in their boats.
Vasic and Benik overturned about halfway through their heat in the men’s pair, which was easily won by New Zealand’s Eric
Murray and Hamish Bond.
Russian doper allowed in
Yulia Efimova will be competing at the Olympics after all.
In a bizarre turn to the Russian doping scandal, world swimming governing body FINA finally revealed Saturday that Efimova will indeed be taking part in the 100-meter breaststroke.
The reigning world champion has been a flashpoint in the scandal because she not only served a 16-month suspension for doping, she tested positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.
World record smashed
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu set the world record while winning the women’s 400 meter individual medley with a time of 4:26.36. She cruised past the previous mark of 4.28.43 set by China’s Ye Shiwen in 2012. Hozzsu won the first Olympic gold of her career by besting American Maya DiRado (4:31.15), who took silver.
Vietnam claims first gold
Hoang Xuan Vihn’s first gold medal also was Vietnam’s first Olympic gold medal ever.
Hoang rallied to beat hometown favorite Felipe Almeida Wu on the final shot of men’s 10-meter air pistol.
Venus drops opener
Venus Williams, playing her opening match at her record fifth Olympics, lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) to Kristen Flipkens of Belgium. Williams was two points from the win four times but could not close out Flipkens, who is ranked 62nd
So, Korea shoots down U.S.
South Korea was nearly flawless to beat the United States in the men’s team archery final.
The Korean’s scored in the 10 range on 15 of its 18 arrows to knock off the Americans, 6-0. The U.S. took home silver for a second straight Olympics.
Americans stun Argentina
The United States claimed one of the biggest wins in its Olympic women’s field hockey history, defeating world No. 2 Argentina 2-1 in its opening match.