Paris 2024 Olympics: Austen Smith Advances To Women’s Skeet Final, Tops Qualification Leaderboard

USA Shooting athlete Austen Smith walked away from the second day of Women’s Skeet event qualification as the top ranked shooter and will compete in the event final this afternoon.

The 23-year-old Smith, who is from Keller, Texas, and is coached by newly minted four-time Men’s Skeet gold medalist and U.S. teammate Vincent Hancock, exited two days of Women’s Skeet qualification with a score of 122+14 after triumphing in a three-way shoot-off for first place with Amber Rutter of Great Britain and Emmanoeula Katzouraki of Greece.

During Women’s Skeet qualification at the Pairs 2024 Olympics, Smith displayed flawless shooting until the second round, missing two targets, one in the third series and another during the fourth series. She then hit 63 consecutive targets, finally posting a miss for her ninth target in round five, ending the round with 15 consecutive shattered targets and 122 of 125 targets in total prior to the aforementioned shoot-off. Smith notched three perfect rounds in qualification—one, three and four—going into the Women’s Skeet final.

Only the top six Women’s Skeet shooters advance to the final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. There were 29 competitors in the event.

Here are the top six shooters that will compete in the Women’s Skeet final this afternoon.

1. Austen Smith, 122+14 (United States)
2. Amber Rutter, 122+13 (Great Britain)
3. Emmanoeula Katzouraki, 122+1 (Greece)
4. Vanesa Hockova, 121 (Slovakia)
5. Francisca Crovetto, 120+8 (Chile)
6. Danka Barteková, 120+7+2 (Slovakia)

Additionally, Smith’s U.S. teammate, Women’s Skeet competitor Dania Vizzi, finished in 12th place with 118 of 125 targets.

The Paris 2024 Games mark Smith’s second appearance at the Olympics. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, she was the youngest U.S. shooter on the team and earned a 10th place ranking in the Women’s Skeet event. Earlier this year, Smith won a Women’s Skeet gold medal at the 2024 ISSF World Cup Baku.

The Women’s Skeet final at the Paris 2024 Olympics will take place at 3:30 p.m. (Paris time) on Sunday, August 4.

In addition, both Austen Smith and Dania Vizzi will compete in the Mixed Team Skeet event at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday, August 5. Smith will pair up with yesterday’s Men’s Skeet gold medalist, Vincent Hancock, while Vizzi is shooting with the Men’s Skeet silver medalist, Conner Prince.

Keep checking the Shooting Sports USA website often for the latest news and results from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.