China's Yang Qian won the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics after a thrilling final in the women's 10-meter air rifle competition. She outlasted ROC's Anastasiia Galashina to give Asian powerhouse China the early lead in the medal tally.
Heading into the last two shots of the air rifle final, Yang trailed Galashina by the thinnest of margins, 231.4 to 231.3. Galashina doubled her advantage with her penultimate shot, firing 10.8 while Yang mustered just a 10.7.
Yang edges past Galashina with pressure-packed final attempt
However, the pressure got to Galashina in her final attempt as she fired a woeful 8.9, an incredibly low score considering the high numbers she posted in her previous shots. Yang took full advantage of Galashina's collapse, shooting a 9.8 just seconds later to clinch the gold for China.
That was Yang's worst score out of the 24 shots she fired in the final, but it was more than enough to land the top prize. Apart from winning the gold medal, Yang also set a new Olympic record with her score of 251.8. Galashina, who landed the silver, finished with a score of 251.1. Nina Christen grabbed the bronze medal for Switzerland with a score of 230.6.
The United States had high hopes for this event after winning this particular competition in the 2016 Olympics. American Virginia Thrasher won gold in the women's 10-meter air rifle event in Rio five years ago, outlasting Chinese competitors Du Li and Yi Siling, who brought home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
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USA's Tucker disappoints, finishes in sixth place
Representing the USA in this event this year was Mary Tucker. Just like Thrasher in 2016, Tucker headed into the Olympics in fine form, winning the NCAA smallbore, air rifle, and team championships while competing for Kentucky. Tucker also won the New Delhi World Cup less than a week after her NCAA exploits, making her one of the favorites for the gold medal.
She started with a 10.7 and finished the first five-shot sequence in the final in third place, 0.2 points back of the leader. However, Tucker's gold medal aspirations were shattered in the following series as she scored just 50.5 for a 10-shot total of 102.8. That was far behind any of Tucker's six 10-shot sequences in qualifying.
After those two series of five shots each, the air rifle competition moved to pairs of shots, with the lowest-placed shooter eliminated after. Tucker easily staved off the first elimination after opening with a perfect 10.9.
She then forced a shootoff with South Korean Kwon Eun-ji after firing a 10.5 and 10.9. The two shooters remained tied after the first shootoff, with both scoring a 10.4. Tucker finally advanced in the following shootoff after firing a 10.8, edging past Kwon, who could only register a 10.5 with her shot attempt.
Tucker's deficit behind Frenchwoman Oceanne Muller was too large for her to overcome, though, as the 20-year-old American finished the competition in sixth place.
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