Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
indy100
indy100
Sport
Sinead Butler

Woman sharpshooter wins Olympic Gold medal and still proceeds to be mansplained on how to hold a gun

Gold Medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina competes in 25m Pistol Women's Finals on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Asaka Shooting Range on July 30, 2021 in Asaka, Saitama, Japan

(Picture: Getty Images)

Vitalina Batsarashkina won gold in the women’s shooting 10 metre air pistol competition for the Russian Olympic Committee. Yet despite this achievement, men on the internet felt the need to mansplain to her how to hold a gun.

It all began when a photo of the new Olympic champion has made its rounds on Twitter, after a user named Zoe described how she was “obsessed” with Batsarashkina’s stance.

Batsarashkina can be seen with her left hand coolly resting in her pocket as she hold a gun and takes aim with her right.

It seems that a LOT of people agree with Zoe’s observation as her tweet has been liked nearly 400,000 times, with over 36,000 retweets.

However, male keyboard warriors disagreed and decided to mansplain to Batsarashkina how she is holding her gun wrong... it’s not like she’s at the top in her sport or anything.

As a result of the incessant mansplaining, many criticised the men for patronising Batsarashkina as they had more expertise in the sport where she is Olympic champion.

While others pointed out that it is in fact within the rules that Batsarashkina - or any sharpshooter in fact - has to shoot one-handed.

Some even provided an explanation as to why it is beneficial for sharpshooters to hold a gun with just one hand.

It’s not the first time Batsarashkina has won an Olympic medal for shooting either. Back at the Rio Olympics in 2016, she won a silver medal in the same event.

During the Tokyo Games, she has also gone on to win an additional gold medal in the 25m pistol shooting event and a silver in the mixed 10m air pistol shooting event.

The first women’s shooting events were added to the Olympic programme at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.