CHATEAUROUX, France (Aug. 3, 2024) –Vincent Hancock earns his fourth Olympic gold medal in Men’s Skeet and Conner Prince joins him on the podium with silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Chateauroux Shooting Rage in France Aug. 3.
Hancock, of Eatonton, Georgia, is now the sixth Olympian ever to win four gold medals in the same event, joining Al Oerter (USA, discus), Paul Elvstrom (Denmark, sailing one-person class), Carl Lewis (USA, long jump), Michael Phelps (USA, 200m individual medley), and Mijain Lopez (Cuba, Greco-Roman heavyweight). He is the first shooting Olympian to accomplish this feat.
Hancock Makes History in Skeet at Paris Olympics
“It is an honor honestly to have my name in with every one of those guys,” said Hancock, a four time ISSF world champion. “I never thought that I would be there. When I started, my goal was just one (gold) and now knowing the names I am there with means a lot to me. It is special.”
Hancock earned his first Olympic gold in Beijing 2008, his next in London 2012, and his third in Tokyo 2020. Hancock mentioned that his fourth gold has been his most emotional thus far.
“There was such a flood of emotions afterwards that I could barely even stand up,” said Hancock. “I was almost in tears at the end of it. There was just so much going on. To have my wife Rebekah, my mom, and my daughters here was special.”
Prince, of Burleson, Texas, took home silver for Team USA making Hancock’s gold even more special. Prince is coached by Hancock and the duo train at the Northlake Shooting Sports in Northlake, Texas.
“I am so happy for Conner,” said Hancock. “For us to have talked about going one and two for so many years now for it to come to fruition is awesome.”
Conner Price Takes Bronze in Olympic Debut
Prince made his Olympic debut in Paris and had quite the showing. Prince finished the qualification round with a score of 124/125, tying the Olympic qualification record. He earned the number one bib for the final by winning a twelve point shoot off against Tammaro Cassandro, of Italy.“My thought process (for the finals) was the same as qualifications,” said Prince. “I just take it one step at a time, one target at a time that’s all I can do.”
After Hancock hit his last target winning him the gold and solidifying Prince’s silver. The duo immediately turned to yell and cheer for each other.
“This is a dream,” said Prince, who currently attends Tarleton State University. “It doesn’t not feel real. I couldn’t be any happier and blessed.”
Hancock and Prince’s double podium marks the first time the U.S. has earned more than one medal in Men’s Skeet at an Olympic Games. The was also the first time more than one U.S. athlete competed in an Olympic Men’s Skeet final. View official results here.
Smith Wins Bronze in Women’s Skeet
Austen Smith, of Keller, Texas, earned another medal for Team USA with her bronze in Women’s Skeet on Aug. 4. This is Smith’s first Olympic medal. She made her Games debut in Tokyo 2020 where she placed 10th.
On Aug. 5, the final day for shooting competition, Mixed Team Skeet will make it’s Olympic debut at the Paris Games. USA team one is Hancock and Smith and USA team two is Prince and Dania Vizzi.
View the full schedule of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games here.
Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook, and X to stay up to date as the team competes in Paris 2024.
Story by Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
On August 4, 2024, Ballistic reported:
CHATEAUROUX, France (Aug. 2, 2024) –Sagen Maddalena, of Groveland, California, earns silver in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle Aug. 2 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Chateauroux Shooting Rage in France. Maddalena earned the first U.S. Olympic Shooting medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sagen Maddalena Earns First US Shooting Medal at Paris Olympics
“This is really special,” said Maddalena, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. “There are no words to describe the opportunity coming to fulfillment.”
Maddalena, the 2023 ISSF World Championship bronze medalist, had an outstanding roller-coaster of a final. She started off the three position final strong in kneeling and prone where she consistently led the pack.
Going into the final position of standing, Maddalena was in first place overall. In her first series of five shots, she fired off an 8.1 and an 8.6, dropping her down from first place to fifth. After the second five shot series in standing, the bottom two athletes were eliminated.
When asked how she shakes off bad shots, Maddalena mentioned that she accepts making a mistake, knows to not dwell on the mistake, and trusts her process and herself to get back on track.
Maddalena Battles for Silver
Athletes moved into single shot eliminations where Maddalena shot an incredible 10.8, moving her back up to first place. Maddalena fluctuated between the top three spots during the single shots and found herself in a shoot off with Qiongyue Zhang, of China, for third place. Maddalena shot a 9.9, beating Zhang’s 9.7, leaving China with the bronze.
Madalena secured her silver medal after Chiara Leone, of Switzerland took her final shot and had an overall score 464.4, just higher of Maddalena’s 463.
Maddalena, a University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni, placed fifth in Women’s 50m Smallbore at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she made her Olympic debut. The crowds in Tokyo were minimal dude to the COVID-19 pandemic, a clear contrast to the crowd in the finals hall today.
“It was really hyped up in a good way,” Maddalena said. “To shoot a good shot and hear the stands erupt was awesome. It pushed me a little bit.”
View official results here. The U.S. Olympic shooting team is looking to add more medals to their count. View the full schedule of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games here. Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook, and X to stay up to date as the team competes in Paris 2024.
Story by Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
