Skeet shooting is a unique and exciting sport in the Olympics. The United States has dominated the competition recently, winning gold in three of the last four games. That success is all thanks to one man – Vincent Hancock.
Shooting sports run through Hancock's veins. His father, Craig, was a competitive shooter and coach. He first started shooting and training in the Port Charlotte and Sarasota area.
“He really got his start in trap shooting around that area in Southwest Florida," Vincent said.
That is also where Vincent was born. He lived in Port Charlotte until he was three. Then his family moved north to just outside of Atlanta. When Hancock was 10 years old, he picked up a gun for the first time.
“I really fell in love with sporting clays, which is kind of like golf with a shotgun," Hancock said.
Only two years later, when Hancock was 12, he learned that skeet shooting was an Olympic sport. It was at that moment he made a declaration to his parents while sitting in the car on the way home from a competition.
“This is what I want to do," Hancock told his parents. "I want to go to the Olympics and I want to win a gold medal. The rest has been history.”
That proclamation set off a historic career. Ever since he was 15 years old, Hancock has been one of the best shooters on Earth. He's medaled in 13 World Championships and is about to go to his fifth Olympic Games.
“I love being able to be part of Team USA and the greatest group of athletes in the world, in the greatest country in the world," Hancock said.
Vincent won his first gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games when he was just 19 years old. Four years later, he took home another gold in the 2012 London Games. The Rio Olympics in 2016 weren't his best, though. As the back-to-back reigning champ, Hancock finished in just 15th. Vincent roared back during the 2020 Tokyo Games claiming his third Olympic gold. Now, as a 35-year-old, he is headed to Paris with the most gold medals of any skeet shooter in Olympic history.
“I can’t choose which one was better than the others because every one is just an entirely unique experience," Hancock said.
The Paris experience will be defined by family. This summer will be the first time Vincent has his wife and two daughters in attendance.
“I think this might be the most excited I’ve ever been to go and compete because I’m going to have them with me and know that I have their support," Hancock said.
If Hancock is on target again, he'll join All Oerter, Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps as the only Americans to ever win gold in the same individual event four times.
“Just that one dream that I started with at 12 years old has led me to all of this," Hancock said. "It just makes me incredibly thankful.”
Hancock shoots for his fourth gold on Aug. 3.