Amber English, 31, and Vincent Hancock, 32, both took the gold medal in the ongoing Tokyo Olympic games in Women’s and Men’s Skeet, respectively. Both athletes set new records in the process.
This is Hancock’s third Olympic gold medal and English’s first. Hancock won his first medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and his second at the 2012 London games.
After scoring well enough to place third in the qualifiers, English shot 56 for 60 in the final round, setting a new Women’s Skeet record. Hancock went even further, only missing one out of 60 shots, number 26, in the final. He then secured the gold with a 35-shot streak.
“After that, I really started enjoying myself,” Hancock said. “I was like, I don’t know if anybody else noticed it, but I had a little bit of a grin coming off after that first station. I’m like, ‘All right, it’s game on. We’re good. Let’s do this again.’”
“It sets the tone of what can happen at USA Shooting,” Hancock said afterward. “Our athletes have been shooting at a really high level for quite a few years now. Because we’re a small sport, we don’t quite get the recognition, but looking at the number of medals we win on a yearly basis, it’s impressive.”
English and Hancock are friends outside of the Olympic games, training and shooting in the same circles since they were 16 years old. “I love that girl like a sister and now we both have medals around our neck,” Hancock said.
See Also: Will Shaner Wins Gold in Men’s 10-Meter Air Rifle Olympic Game
Previously in 2012 and again in 2016, English just fell short of qualifying for the Team USA Olympic shotgun teams. This represents a big win for both record-setting competitors.
“I’m very, very glad,” English told the AP. “This has been a long time coming.”
Hancock is also the first three-time winner of the gold medal in Men’s Skeet. Denmark’s Jesper Hansen took the silver medal, followed by Kuwait’s Abdullah Alrashidi who won bronze.
English is a first lieutenant with the World Class Athlete Program attached to the Army Marksmanship Unit. She bested Italy’s Diana Bacosi, who won silver and China’s Wei Meng who took the bronze.
We better take gold when it comes to shooting shit. Go Merica🇺🇸
There can be no doubt about those results . The U.S. being one
of the only Nations ( possibly the only Nation ) in the Free World ,
to allow private firearm ownership .
Congrats to them , well done , folks !!!!!!!!
God bless the U.S.A. , and the 2d ammendment !!!!!!