A teenager from American wins first gold of Rio Olympics

 

Virginia Thrasher

American teenager Virginia Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympics when she claimed victory in the women's 10 metre air rifle.

The 19-year-old achieved an Olympic record score of 208.0 to edge China's Li Du into silver by a single point, with another Chinese athlete, Siling Yi, taking bronze.

Thrasher, the world number 23, had ranked only sixth in qualifying, with Du dominating and going into Saturday's final as the heavy favourite for gold.