By Tim Hipps, AIMC
LONDON, July 31, 2012 – In double record-setting fashion, U.S. Army Sgt. Vincent Hancock became the first shotgun shooter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s skeet at the Royal Artillery Barracks here today.
Hancock, 23, a soldier in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit from Eatonton, Ga., eclipsed his own records set at the 2008 Beijing Games for both qualification (123) and total (148) scores. He struck gold in China with a qualification score of 121 and total of 145.
Hancock prevailed by two shots over silver medalist Anders Golding (146) of Denmark and by four shots over Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiya (144), who secured the bronze medal by winning a shoot-off against Russia’s Valeriy Shomin.
A native of Eatonton, Ga., Hancock has been shooting since he was a young child and started competing when he was 11 years old. The 2012 Summer Olympics in London will mark his second trip to the games after winning the gold medal in skeet in 2008 in Beijing. He is a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit on Fort Benning, Ga. Hancock has plans to separate from the Army in November 2012 and open a shooting academy in his hometown with his father, Craig.
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