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Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith won silver in Mixed Team Skeet at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Aug.5. Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
CHATEAUROUX, France (Aug. 14, 2024) – Vincent Hancock, of Eatonton, Georgia, and Austen Smith, of Keller, Texas, made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by winning the very first silver Olympic medal in Mixed Team Skeet at the Chateauroux Shooting Rage in France Aug. 5.
Mixed Team Skeet made its Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and Mixed Team Trap made its debut in Tokyo 2020. Hancock and Smith are no strangers to the event, in fact they are the 2023 world champions in Mixed Skeet Team.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Hancock, a five-time Olympic medalist. “This was the event I was looking forward to the most. We have won every competition we have been to (in this event). Knowing that you are competing with somebody that is as good as she is, there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to be in the gold and silver medal match.”
The duo shot an overall combined qualification score of 148. Smith’s score was 73 and Hancock’s was 75, giving them a second place finish overall. Their second place finish in the qualification round landed them a spot in the gold medal match. The duo fell just one target short of the gold medal finishing with a finals score of 44. Italy earned gold with a score of 45.
The Mixed Team Skeet silver medal was the second medal both Hancock and Smith earned in Paris. Hancock earned a gold medal in Men’s Skeet and made history by becoming the sixth Olympian ever to win four gold medals in the same event. He is the first shooting Olympian to accomplish this feat. He won gold in Men’s Skeet in Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Tokyo 2020.
Smith earned her very first Olympic medal in Women’s Skeet. She took home bronze by beating Vanessa Hockova, of Slovakia, who placed fourth.
“It is a dream come true to come home with two medals,” said Smith, who has over 20 international medals. “To be honest, just coming home with one was a long shot in my mind. There were some tough competitors out there so coming home with two I couldn’t have even imagined it.”
Hancock commented that there was never any doubt in his mind that Smith would be coming home with some hardware. Hancock is actually Smith’s coach as well as Conner Prince’s coach. Prince earned his first Olympic medal in Men’s Skeet at Paris 2024. Hancock coaches the two skeet shooters at Northlake Shooting Sports in Northlake Texas, a facility he co-owns.
Smith mentioned that competing in Mixed Team Skeet with Hancock was no different than practicing back home in Texas.
“Honestly it is kind of like being at home,” said Smith. “We train together a lot, and it is an honor to shoot with him. I have looked up to him my entire shooting career. It is a dream.”
Hancock is certainly making his mark in the world of shooting sports and his five Olympic medals are good proof of that. Hancock hopes to spread the sport of shooting and help grow interest in the game.
“Most people think about legacy as a numbers game, how many medals you have won,” said Hancock, a four-time world champion. “To me that’s not what you create as a legacy, it’s how can I impact people in a positive direction. Yes, I helped (Smith and Prince) get their start and developed them as best I could, but they are athletes on their own. Being able to teach others and watch them grow and be themselves that’s the legacy I want to leave behind and what I can do to grow my sport.”
Hancock and Smith’s silver medal brought USA Shooting’s final Olympic Medal count of the Paris 2024 Game to five. See medals 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