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Sagen Maddalena earned a silver Olympic medal in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle at the Paris 2024 Games. Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
COLO SPGS, CO (Sept. 23, 2024) – The USA Shooting Olympic and Paralympic team made history and brought home a total of six medals from the Paris 2024 Games this summer in Chateauroux, France.
The Olympic Games took place first July 26-Aug. 11 where the team earned five medals and had multiple finals performances.
Sagen Maddalena, a Groveland, California native, earned the first U.S. medal in shooting for the Olympic Games with a silver in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle. In an exciting final, Maddalena, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, defeated Qiongyue Zhang, of China, who finished in third place. Maddalena also made the final for Women’s 10m Air Rifle and finished fourth.
Vincent Hancock, of Eatonton, Georgia, earned the second U.S. Olympic shooting medal and made Olympic history. He earned his fourth gold medal in Men’s Skeet, becoming 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.
Conner Prince, of Burleson, Texas, joined Hancock on the podium when he won silver in Men’s Skeet. Prince and Hancock’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.
Austen Smith, of Keller, Texas, secured her first Olympic medal in Women’s Skeet. Smith shot an overall qualification score of 122/125. She tied Amber Rutter, of Great Britian, in qualifications and then won a 14 point shoot off, earning herself the number one bib for the final. In the final, Smith bested Vanessa Hockova, of Slovakia, who placed fourth.
Smith and Hancock paired up to win the fifth and final medal for USA in Mixed Team Skeet. The duo earned silver, falling just short to Italy in the gold medal match. Smith and Hancock were a favorite for a medal as they are the 2023 world champions in the event. The pair makes a dynamic team as Hancock is Smith’s coach. Hancock also coaches Prince alongside Smith at the Northlake Shooting Sports in Northlake Texas, a facility he co-owns.
More history was made in Paris when Katelyn Abeln qualified for the Women’s 25m Sport Pistol final. Abeln, of Douglasville, Georgia, is the first U.S. woman to ever qualify for an Olympic pistol final. She finished eighth overall.
The Paralympic Games took place Aug. 28-Sept.8 where YanXiao Gong earned his very first Paralympic medal and made appearances in two finals.
YanXiao Gong, of Malibu, California, earned a silver medal in P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1 after an exciting final. Gong’s medal is the first male Paralympic medal for the U.S. since 2004 and the first Paralympic pistol medal for the U.S. since 1984. Gong made the final for P3 after placing fourth overall in the qualification round. In the final, Gong bested besting Jungman Kim, of Korea, who finished third. Gong also qualified for the P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 final where he finished eighth overall.
The Paris Olympic and Paralympic shooting teams had strong ties to the U.S. Military with nine athletes who are either currently serving or are veterans. See all below:
Sagen Maddalena: Sgt. in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (Olympic)
Ivan Roe: Sgt. in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (Olympic)
Will Hinton: SSG in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (Olympic)
Rachel Tozier: SSG in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (Olympic)
Vincent Hancock: U.S Army Veteran (Olympic)
Keith Sanderson: U.S. Army and Marine Corps Veteran (Olympic)
John Wayne Joss: SFC in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (Paralympic)
Kevin Nguyen: SSG in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (Paralympic)
Marco De La Rosa: Marine Corps Veteran (Paralympic)
See all of the medals from the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games below:
Sagen Maddalena: Silver, Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle
Vincent Hancock: Gold, Men’s Skeet
Conner Prince: Silver, Men’s Skeet
Austen Smith: Bronze, Women’s Skeet
Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith: Silver, Mixed Team Skeet
YanXiao Gong: Silver, P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1
SG Paris Oly: L to R, Vincent Hancock, Conner Prince, and Austen Smith all earned medals in shotgun events at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games. Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
YanXiao Paris: YanXiao Gong earned silver in P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1 at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Photo by Dan Shanebrook