WVU Sophomore Pulls Upset for US' 1st Olympic Gold

The first gold medal of the Rio Olympics went to a 19-year-old college sophomore from Virginia. Ginny Thrasher placed first in the women's 10-meter air rifle, the first event of these games, on Saturday, USA Today reports. Thrasher is competing in her first Olympics and—according to West Virginia MetroNews—only started shooting five years ago after asking her father and grandfather to take her deer hunting. To get the gold, Thrasher beat out two Chinese competitors, including defending champion Yi Siling, the BBC reports. It's the first major international win for Thrasher, who also won the NCAA title this year competing for West Virginia University. The Olympic champion will be home in less than a week to start her sophomore year of college. (More Rio Olympics stories.)