Meet Ginny Thrasher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginny Thrasher.

Hi Ginny, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started sport shooting when I was 14 years old, after a hunting trip with my grandpa. I immediately fell in love with the sport and started practicing regularly with my high school air rifle team. I realized I wanted to continue shooting at the NCAA level and signed with West Virginia University, the #1 collegiate rifle team in history. Shortly after, I qualified for my first international match as a senior in high school. One year later, I qualified for the Olympics. At 19 years old, I won the first gold medal of the Rio 2016 Games in Women’s Air Rifle!

It was a moment that changed my life forever. I then finished a storied college career with 12 All-American Honors and a degree in Biomedical Engineering. I then moved to Colorado Springs to start my career as a professional athlete at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. I now train, travel, and compete as my full-time job. I also educate and advocate on social media about my niche sport. You can follow me @GinnyThrasher on all platforms as I look towards success at Paris 2024 next year.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Covid was a challenging time for all athletes, as our competitions got canceled and training venues closed. The final part of our Olympic Trials was pushed back 14 months and I ended up coming as the alternate – a heartbreaking result after a very successful start to Olympic Trials.

A few months after proudly watching my teammates represent in Tokyo, I suffered a career-threatening back injury.

It was quite a road to recovery and I had to make many adjustments to my support team, positions, equipment, and training style. Now, my body is healthy and I am grateful to still be able to compete as I aim towards hitting an even higher peak than I had pre-injury.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Being a professional athlete is a very unique job that I never want to leave! It is a job with a lot of passion for what I do every day, as well as a lot of opportunities. Through it, I have traveled to over 25 countries, met 3 presidents, and signed thousands of autographs.

Although the role and publicity of an Olympic gold medal can be challenging at times, I try my best to lean into the opportunity to positively impact my community and spread awareness about shooting sports. I now have over 75,000 followers on social media where I post educational videos and get to connect with young, aspiring athletes.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice for those just getting started in a sport is to always have fun. Sports should be fun, regardless of what level we play at. It’s easy between invested parents, competitive rivals, and expectations to lose the reason we started playing in the first place.

But if we can keep that in the front of our minds and commit to playing games, making friends, and enjoying what we do, then it won’t be a path of sacrifices. It will instead be a path of delayed gratification, a deep meaning, and as many ups as downs.

Contact Info:

• Website: ginnythrasher.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginnythrasher/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinnyThrasher/
• Other: patreon.com/teamthrasher