Vincent Hancock: Most Decorated Men’s Skeet Olympian In History

by
posted on November 5, 2024
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
Vincent Hancock
Photos by Joshua Schave.

American men’s skeet competitor Vincent Hancock made waves at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as the first Olympic shooter to win four gold medals in the same individual event. Not only that, he joined an elite list of athletes—Hancock is one of only seven Olympians throughout history to capture four gold medals in the same event, including four Americans—Al Oerter (discus), Carl Lewis (long jump), Michael Phelps (200 m butterfly) and Katie Ledecky (800 m freestyle).

“It’s pretty special for me because I love the Olympics,” Hancock said. “The fact that I’ve been able to do what I’ve done in this sport and just have my name in the same breath as them—that’s special to me.”

Hancock missed just two of 60 targets in the men’s skeet final. After four finalists were eliminated, it came down to Hancock and U.S. teammate Conner Prince for the gold. Upping the ante even further—Hancock is Prince’s shooting coach. Although Hancock held the lead for most of the final, it was all on the line at the end. After Prince missed his 54th shot, Hancock shattered his last four targets to win gold and become a four-time champion. “This was the hardest one yet,” Hancock said. “But it was good to see Conner shooting the way he was and knowing I was going to have to bring everything I had in order to beat him.”

When asked if something other than a gold medal would have been acceptable to him this year, Hancock emphasized that a podium finish at the Olympics is a monumental accomplishment for any athlete. “I knew that coming into this, it’s a crapshoot,” he said. “With everything going perfectly, I’ll win gold. If it doesn’t, I can still win a medal. And that’s okay—you’re still an Olympic medalist, and you’ll always be an Olympic medalist.”

Apart from his Olympic gold medals, Hancock’s greatest legacy may be the shooters he coaches. In addition to Prince, the men’s skeet silver medalist, another Hancock pupil, Team USA’s Austen Smith, walked away from the women’s skeet final with a bronze medal. Hancock and Smith also picked up a mixed team skeet silver medal to close out the Paris 2024 Olympics, making them the first U.S. shooters to earn two medals at the same Games since Lones Wigger in Tokyo 1964. Learn more about how the U.S. Shooting Team fared at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at ssusa.org.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.