Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith topped the Mixed Skeet Team leaderboard to win the gold medal at the 2023 International Shooting Sports Federation World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday, August 20.
Hancock and Smith’s qualification score of 149/150 set a new world record. The American duo outshot the Ukrainian team in the gold medal match.
Additionally, Hancock from Eatonton, Georgia, and Smith of Keller, Texas, earned gold medals in their respective Men’s and Women’s Skeet Team events. Hancock, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, was joined by Christian Elliott and Dustan Taylor on the podium. The men’s score of 369/375 placed them above the Greek team, who earned silver.
The American trio of Smith, Dania Vizzi and Samantha Simonton set a new world record with their score of 365/375, defeating the Italian team who finished second.
Vizzi also claimed the silver medal in Women’s Skeet, bringing the shotgun team’s 2023 World Championship medal count to four.
Hancock and Smith’s world championship title marks the duo’s second international gold medal of the year. The pair earned first place in Mixed Skeet Team at the 2023 ISSF Lonato World Cup this past July, where they edged out Chile in the gold medal match.
Hancock and Smith will both be competing at the 2023 Pan American Games this fall in Santiago, Chile. Hancock has earned gold medals in Men’s Skeet at both the 2007 and 2011 Games. In addition, Smith will be making her Pan American Games debut.
The USA Shooting trapshooting team will begin its World Championship competition tomorrow, Wednesday, August 23.
As for the rifle competition, Sagen Maddalena earned bronze in the Women’s 50m Rifle 3-Position event on Monday, August 21. Her qualification score, combined with scores from Sarah Beard and Mary Tucker, earned the Women’s team a gold medal, along with a new team world record. Currently, USA Shooting has landed a total of six World Championship medals.
You can view the full results of the match at the ISSF website.
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
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