Gatewood alum Vincent Hancock will compete in the men’s skeet shooting competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hancock is a three-time gold medalist, claiming victories in Beijing (2008), London (2012), and Tokyo (2021). The 35-year-old former Gator shooter also competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he finished 15th.
Hancock will lead the charge for the U.S. in Paris during the 2024 Olympic games, hoping for another gold medal. His finishes at the Beijing and London Summer Games made history as Hancock became the first American skeet shooter to capture gold medals in the same event in consecutive Olympic Games.
Hancock told NBC in Dallas-Fort Worth that he’s trying to capture another gold medal before his career is over.
“When you’re chasing perfection, there is a little nervousness that goes into it. If I miss this target, I could already be out of it. There will always be nerves that come into play, and I just always know that and understand that,” Hancock said.
“Winning another gold, that’s a goal and a dream. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first, fourth, or your fifth Olympics, it is still a dream. To do that you have to be almost perfect.”
According to USAShooting.org, Hancock started competing in skeet shooting at 11 years old. Five years later, he won his first world championship and captured the coveted International Shooting Sport Federation’s Shooter of the Year award.
Hancock graduated from Gatewood in 2007, attended Troy University, and finished his degree in 2014. In 2015, he became the third athlete to win a third world championship, and he added another in 2018.
That made him the first shooter to win a fourth world title, surpassing Abdullah Alrashidi of Kuwait, and Jury Tsuranov of the Soviet Union, per USAShooting.org. He’s now one of three men in the sport to earn four career world titles.
Hancock is a three-time Olympic gold medal winner, a four-time world champion, and a 16-time World Cup medalist, including 12 victories. The Florida native also is a five-time World Cup Finals medalist.
Two men and two women will compete for the U.S. Hancock will compete in two events in Paris: the individual men’s competition and the mixed-team shooting competition, which is making its debut this year.
Hancock can become one of six U.S. shooters with four or more Olympic gold medals. He also can be the first American shooter since 1964 to win two medals at the same Games, joining Lones Wigger.
Hancock told NBC he’s not chasing history but is focused on winning more medals. He said he’ll let the rest fall into place.
“All these history things, it is what it is, but my sole goal is to go there and win gold medals. Whatever happens, happens,” Hancock said. “All I can do is go do my best because I know if I go and do my best, I can win. “But it’s not a given, even if I’m doing my best. If history is on my side, then I’ll do well, and if I do well, then I’ll be etched in history. It’s a cool thought, but it doesn’t go into changing anything that I do.”