AS editor-in-chief of the Chinese edition of the Minhang Times, I had the opportunity on a visit to the United States to interview Ginny Thrasher, the American teenager who won the first gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Thrasher, now 19, won gold in the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition. She beat former Chinese Olympic gold medalists Du Li, who took silver, and Yi Siling, who took bronze. It was the first time Thrasher competed in the Games. She is enrolled at West Virginia University, majoring in biomedical engineering.

Q: How would you rank the four “Ss” — study, sport, sleep and socializing?

A: School is very important to me. You can’t play a sport for a very long time, but education lasts forever. So I think the priority should be sleep, school and then sport. I have social ties with teammates and coaches, but it’s also important to have friends outside your sport. But, unfortunately, when you rank them, you have to put school before socializing.

Q: What’s a normal week like for you?

A: On weekdays, I go to class from 8:30am to 1pm, and from 1pm to 5pm, I practice shooting. From 5:30pm to 6:30pm, I work on strengthening my shooting most days. We have dinner as a team, and then I go home to do my homework. I am in bed by 10:30pm, and I get up at 7am.

On weekends in our competitive season from October to March, we travel. I think the hardest part about being a student athlete is having to miss school sometimes and juggling time management.

Q: You spend a lot of time on traveling for your sport. So how does that affect schoolwork?

A: That’s the most difficult part. When I’m in the competitive season, many of my professors are very accommodating. They let me turn in assignments late and make up tests. But athlete or not, I still am required to do the same amount of work in my degree program.

Q: Many professional athletes in China become coaches after retirement. What are your plans after you graduate from West Virginia University or after you retire from sports?

A: It’s hard to predict what you are going to do in five year or even more. I want to keep shooting as long as possible. I love it. I am good at it. So I hope to be able to still do it in 2020, if not 2024 or even 2028. Once I retire, I could probably be a coach in a college or perhaps pursue post-graduate studies. There are a lot of options.

Q: How did winning gold in Rio change your life?

A: Life is very different now, but it’s fun. When I go into a grocery store, people recognize me. For about a month after Rio, I was late to class because people stopped to talk to me and take selfies. This is a college town with a very cool local community.

Q: You smile a lot. Apart from the fun of your sport, what benefit do you derive from it?

A: Sports give me balance in life. You can’t just go to school 24/7; nor can you do sport all the time. But sport really teaches you the value of hard work, the value of teammates and how to be a leader. Sport also brings me opportunities to travel and see the world. Every day, my sport makes me a better person. I’m very competitive and always trying to be a better student and a better athlete.

Q: How do you handle a loss in sports?

A: You learn just as much, if not more, from failure as from success. When you fail, you must take it as a lesson. It’s not easy or fun to fail. It’s the same with success. Everyone thinks that success means all your dreams come true. That’s not how it is. The more you are successful, the more everybody is trying to beat you. A lot of expectations fall on your shoulders.

Q: You began shooting just five years ago after going deer hunting with your grandfather. Was that when you gave up any hope of becoming a competitive ice skater and chose the air rifle instead?

A: Yes. I went deer hunting with my grandfather, my father and my brothers when I was 14. I shot a deer for the first time. In high school, there were a variety of sports. I joined the high school team.

Q: How did you make such a big progress in such a short time?

A: One of the things that helped me progress so fast was my mental attitude. I really enjoy sports psychology and learning how to perform to the best of your abilities. Every athlete who goes to the Olympics wants to win a gold medal, right? But I went to the Olympics not caring about medals but just trying to shoot the best I could. We all want to win, but we can’t win by thinking about winning.

Q: A picture in a Chinese newspaper shows you and Yi Siling smiling, but silver medalist Du Li is not. She must have been disappointed that she failed.

A: I wouldn’t say she failed. I felt she shot very well. She was just a little bit disappointed. It’s hard to not win if you want to win, but it’s not failure.

Q: Sports training and even competitions are viewed a bit differently in China than in the US. Do you think Chinese athletes are subjected to more pressure?

A: Perhaps. I think your culture may make athletes feel that if they don’t win, it’s the end of the world. There are a lot of pressures and expectations.

Q: Before the Rio, you were unknown in China. Now you are popular there, and people don’t begrudge you a win at the expense of Chinese athletes.

A: It’s a good competition. There will always be Chinese shooters, American shooters, German shooters, Russian shooters. They will all come to competitions for a common goal.

I can compete against Yi Siling but still wave to her in a friendly way. We are not enemies. I enjoy meeting and talking with my international friends.

Q: You mentioned you’d like to do some training in China. Why?

A: Yes, I’d like to do that. I have never been to Asia, so I’d like to see China, Japan and South Korea. I think every part of the world develops its own training techniques and it’s very interesting to look at others For instance, in one country, people train for five hours every day, whereas we do four hours.

I would like to see the Chinese do their training. I could learn something from them, and perhaps they could learn something from me.

Q: In China, athletes who win gold medals get rewarded by government. What about in America?

A: Here’s it’s called “medal incentive money.” You got a certain amount of money for gold, for silver or bronze from the government.

Q: What about training costs?

A: Once you make the national team, your travel is paid for, but you still have to buy for your own equipment. That can be expensive.

Q: You have two brothers. Are they also expert shooters?

A: No, but we do go deer hunting together. I can hit a deer only if it’s stationary because in my sport, the target doesn’t move.

My parents and two brothers went to Rio to watch me compete. It was a special time.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: I don’t have a lot of extra time. When I do, I like to read and cook, and I still love ice skating. You have to find time to squeeze things that make you happy into such a busy schedule.