10 Rio Olympians Who Might End Up on the Upcoming Season of Dancing With the Stars
By Isobel Moody
Aug 6, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Virginia Thrasher (USA) celebrates winning the gold medal. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Thrasher, Shooting
The first gold won in Rio was Woman’s 10 meter air rifle, another gold which usually goes to China. But this time around it instead went to nineteen-year-old girl from Virginia, named Virginia. She instantly went from someone nobody had heard of to a name in the headlines. Shooting isn’t a sport the US has ever cared about much, but Thrasher is young and blonde and pretty. Moreover, she has been charming and inoffensive when interviewed, exactly what Dancing with the Stars wants in its recent Olympic champions. Having been burned by Lochte, she might especially be just what they’d go for in his replacement.
Her choice of sport may feel a bit awkward considering the gun issues our country is currently facing, but Dancing with the Stars has always been a red-state show. Her background of coming from a hunting family will probably increase her appeal to many a viewer. On the unfortunate side of that, the right has started using her as a political symbol. But she herself has stated she does not want to be a political symbol for anybody. That should help keep people for holding it against her. (One hopes!)
She may not come from a sport that requires her to be as athletic as some of the other Olympians, but she did try figure skating as a girl, even if she wasn’t very good at it. She’d bring an athlete’s normal training habits. Given she only picked shooting up half a decade ago, she may be a quick study in other things too.
Next: Helen Maroulis, Wrestling