A Men’s Skeet final for the record books was the exciting conclusion for the first stage of the 2018 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Series in Guadalajara, Mexico. Two-time Olympic champion Vincent Hancock won the gold medal in his first international appearance since the 2016 ISSF World Cup Final.
Hancock entered the final with the highest qualification score—missing his only clay on his fifth trip to station five. He eventually finished with a score that equaled the current World Record: 59 hits out of 60 clays.
However, that wasn’t enough to claim the gold. Australia’s Paul Adams matched Hancock’s incredible performance, also equaling the World Record set by Italy’s Riccardo Filippelli and Great Britain’s Ben Llewellin in last October New Delhi, India.
In the shoot-off, Hancock made six additional hits to win the gold for the seventh time in his career. Adams pocketed the silver medal.
Despite being tied with both Hancock and Adams after 50 shots, Tammaro Cassandro was forced to leave the match due to his lower bib number, placing third and securing his fourth World Cup medal.
Team USA had a second finalist, Frank Thompson, who finished in fifth place with 26 out of 30 hits.
For the championship, the U.S. team secured three golds, one silver and two bronzes—all in shotgun events.
The 2018 ISSF World Cup Series will return in April in Changwon, Korea. The next ISSF competition is the Junior World Cup in Sydney, Australia, March 19 to 29.
Photos by USA Shooting
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