Tokyo 2020: Olympic gold medal shooter goes viral for ‘cool’ stance – but is mansplained on ‘how to hold gun properly’
OLYMPIC star Vitalina Batsarashkina's shooting stance has gone viral after the Russian star won two gold medals at the Tokyo Games.
Fans on social media are loving the 24-year-old's unique technique, although some blokes have decided to question the champion instead.
Batsarashkina shoots with her right hand and tucks her left into her pocket, making her stance seem effortlessly cool.
After a Twitter user uploaded an image of the shooting star's stance in appreciation, the social media app was flooded with mansplainers.
One replied: "Does it look cool? Yes. Will their wrist shatter the moment they fire? Absolutely."
Another added: "That will have a huge recoil there's a reason why people tell you to hold the gun with two hands."
And one claimed: "Not only are you going to have a broken wrist or nose, you're also gonna have to deal with the fact you one handed that gun for no reason other than to be bold."
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But the critics were left to look rather foolish when one user pointed out that athletes have to shoot one-handed in the 10m air pistol event.
Olympians are not allowed to support their shooting hand, making the gold medallist's effort even more impressive.
And Batsarashkina's reason for tucking her left hand into her pocket is not to look cool but to offer greater balance.
One expert tweeted: "When you're shooting as precisely as that, your heartbeat throws off your aim.
"So they stand as relaxed as possible and still maintain a firm stance."
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Batsarashkina has enjoyed huge success in her career to date, winning the 10m air pistol and 25 pistol events at this summer's delayed Games.
She is also a World and European champion and picked up a silver medal in Rio five years ago.
Batsarashkina is representing the Russian Olympic Committee in Tokyo after Russia were barred from competing for breaching anti-doping regulations.
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