Twitter's In Meltdown As Men Try To Teach Olympic Gold Medalist The Proper Way To Hold A Gun

Vitalina Batsarashkina, who is a 24-year-old Russian sports shooter, won a gold medal in the now ongoing Tokyo Olympics. People all around the world were fascinated by her calm stance depicted in the picture showing her during the competition. However, this was what also stirred a debate on Twitter.

Twitter member @Blankzilla shared a picture of Vitalina during the game expressing her astonishment at how calmly she stands with a gun in one hand and the other in her pocket. Soon, a few know-it-alls started commenting on the athlete’s position and the way she holds the gun, saying that she does it wrong. The mansplaining soon was shut down by other members who happened to be experienced shooters or were merely into this sport.

More Info: Twitter

This young sportswoman, who started sports shooting at 12 years old, has already won two gold medals and a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics. She’s been gaining a lot of international recognition since the 2014 European Junior Championships. Since she was little, she was interested in more masculine activities such as hunting, fishing, and shooting. She learned how to use a gun before she turned 10 years old, which seems to be the very start of her sports shooter career.

Shooting sports require posture stability and accuracy in aiming and triggering. For this reason, air pistol shooters try to maintain a relaxed body position. This is why sports shooters are seen with one hand in their pocket, as according to one of the Twitter users, it “helps stop any body wobble.” Another prominent critique was that holding a gun with one arm could break her wrist. According to Olympics shooting rules, athletes have to shoot using one hand only, and using an air pistol won’t break their wrist.