Olympic gold medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina has the White Wolf with her in Tokyo. Batsarashkina has caught many fans’ eyes with her Witcher medallion, which she has worn to competitions and other events throughout the games. Batsarashkina’s medallion even bobbed alongside her gold medal this weekend.
Batsarashkina competes in sports shooting, with prodigious records in pistol and air pistol marksmanship. She is competing for her home country of Russia, and at 24 years old she set an Olympic record this weekend in the 10-meter air pistol event. While she has proven to be the best in the world this year, fans noticed Batsarashkina beforehand for her style at the Olympics. She has gone viral for wearing Witcher gear at many of her events, and for her casual shooting stance.
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On her shooting eyewear as well pic.twitter.com/J7j9GBhieM
— Kioshi (@nanashit774) July 25, 2021
Batsarashkina has a well-documented history of bringing Witcher trinkets into competition with her — according to a report by Kotaku, she wore a replica of Geralt’s medallion at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and some photos also show her wearing custom shooting glasses with Witcher illustrations printed on the frames. Batsarashkina herself has apparently posted selfies in Witcher T-shirts and other apparel.
Another report by PC Gamer points out that Batsarashkina did not wear her Witcher medallion to the medal ceremony this weekend, though subsequent photos showed her wearing it shortly afterward along with her gold medal. Fans assumed this was some kind of rule by the Olympics officials.
I am obsessed with the stance on this sharpshooter pic.twitter.com/DagufxorxL
— Zoe! That’s Me! (@Blankzilla) July 26, 2021
Batsarashkina’s other claim to fame is the photo of her with one hand in her pocket, making her sport look effortless in a recent competition. Other sports shooting enthusiasts weighed in on this stance, saying that it is likely not an affectation — serious competitors will adopt many different stances to control their bodies’ fidgeting as much as possible.
“When you’re shooting as precisely as that, your heartbeat throws off your aim,” one person tweeted. “So they stand as relaxed as possible and still maintain a firm stance.”
As exciting as the gold medal win is, it seems safe to say that Batsarashkina is also excited for the upcoming Witcher releases on Netflix. Season 2 of the main series premieres on Friday, Dec. 17, but before that the animated prequel movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premieres on Monday, Aug. 23.
