First gold medal in Rio goes to US shooter Virginia Thrasher

She swapped figure skating for shooting after a family hunting trip in which she killed a deer with her first shot. Her best record on global stage before the Rio Olympics is the 4th place at the ISSF World Cup in Munich earlier this year.

During her freshman year in college, she led West Virginia University to an NCAA team rifle championship while winning her own individual events.

“It’s just an intensive feeling of pride for my country and I’m so happy to be here”, said Thrasher after the victory ceremony.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the best-recognized names on the U.S. Olympic team belong to women.

The first one of the 2016 games.

Thrasher entered the final with a 0.7-point lead and opened with a solid 10.5, which Li matched.

The 19-year-old USA college champion, competing in her first Olympics, edged out China’s Du Li, who won gold in Athens in 2004, with an Olympic-record score of 208 in the sport’s new finals format.

– American Chase Kalisz finished second to Kosuke Hagino of Japan in the men’s 400-meter individual medley final.

The United States has claimed its first gold in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Carmelo Anthony, already in possession of two gold medals and a bronze, looks to become the most decorated men’s basketball player in US history as he participates in his fourth Olympic Games.

Showcasing Rio’s famed beaches and majestic mountains, the men’s road race began under clear, sunny skies buzzing with helicopters – some carrying TV cameras, others from the military to provide security.

However, while all three nations have three golds, the United States are well ahead due to the number of silver and bronze medals they have taken.

Also the youngest of the eight finalists by several years, Thrasher seemed unfazed by her seasoned field and consistently scored in the 10 points target area over the 20 rounds. Thrasher, well, thrashed her veteran opponent by a full point, a wide margin in perhaps the Games’ most precise sport. Coming into the Olympics, her best finish at a World Cup was fourth in Munich this year. “But I just had to control myself”.

Thrasher ended up on top of the podium and her whirlwind will wind down soon; a biomedical engineering major, she starts classes again at West Virginia on August 17.

The Americans are heavily favored to repeat as gold medalists in gymnastics.

“We got a great head start in the U.S. because of the support they had in their schools and their colleges growing up”, said Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“Just because they aren’t here today, we’ve got another batch of guys that’s walking around on the streets saying they want to win a gold medal and we all have something in common”, Durant said.

There’s a bit of disbelief and I’m very overwhelmed.