The U.S. Shotgun Team earned four medals at the International Shooting Sports Federation Lonato World Cup, June 10-19, which is the last World Cup prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which are scheduled for July 26 to August 11.
At the ISSF Lonato World Cup, the U.S. brought home more medals than any other country in competition with four in total. The USA Shooting team earned hardware in the following events: Conner Prince with silver in Men’s Skeet, Dania Vizzi with silver in Women’s Skeet, Austen Smith with bronze in Women’s Skeet and the duo of Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith winning gold in Mixed Team Skeet.
All medalists will be competing at the Paris 2024 Games this summer, where the Mixed Skeet Team event will make its Olympic debut.
Conner Prince, a resident of Burleson, Texas, qualified for the Men’s Skeet finals after shooting a 123 out of 125 in the qualification round and then winning a shoot-off. He earned second place in the final by shooting 53 out of 60 targets, ousting Rashid Al-Athba of Qatar, who finished third. Prince will be making his Olympic debut this summer in Paris, where he will be shooting the Men’s Skeet event, along with Mixed Skeet Team with Dania Vizzi.
Dania Vizzi of Odessa, Florida, earned her spot in the Women’s Skeet finals by shooting 121 out of 125 in the qualification round. She was in a three-way tie for first place in the qualification round, earning the number-one bib for the final after winning a shoot-off. Vizzi earned silver in the final by shooting a 56 out of 60. She is also making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer, competing in the Women’s Skeet and Mixed Team Skeet events.
Austen Smith, a Keller, Texas, native, was also in the three-way tie for first place in the Women’s Skeet qualification round with a 121 out of 125 score. She earned the second-place bib in a shoot-off. Smith landed a bronze medal in the final after out shooting U.S. teammate Sam Simonton, who placed fourth. Smith went on to win gold with Vincent Hancock in Mixed Team Skeet. A Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Smith will be competing in Women’s Skeet and Mixed Team Skeet with Vincent Hancock in Paris.
As for Vincent Hancock of Eatonton, Georgia, he paired with Smith to shoot a combined total of 147 out of 150 in the Mixed Team Skeet qualification round. The duo came out on top in the gold medal match after defeating the Kuwait team. Hancock and Smith make a strong team going into the Paris Olympics for Mixed Skeet. They also won a gold medal in the same event at the 2023 ISSF World Championships. Hancock, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, will also be competing in Men’s Skeet in Paris this summer. A three-time Pan American Games champion, he is looking to make history in Paris. If Hancock wins another gold medal in Men’s Skeet, he will become the sixth athlete ever to win the same individual Olympic event four times, and only the fourth American to do so.
See the full results of the 2024 ISSF Lonato World Cup at the ISSF website.
The shotgun team and the rest of the U.S. shooting team is gearing up for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games, which will kick off on Friday, July 26.
In addition, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place shortly after the Olympics, starting on Wednesday, August 28.
You can view the entire U.S. Olympic and Paralympic shooting team rosters at the USA Shooting website.
