FORT WORTH, Texas — When you think of track and field at the Olympics, names such as Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt probably come to mind. For gymnastics it's likely Simone Biles, and swimming it's hard to beat Michael Phelps.
How about skeet shooting? Well, Vincent Hancock further cemented his legacy as the sport's greatest by setting an Olympic record and winning his third gold medal at the Tokyo Games.
Hancock is the only Olympian skeet shooter to win multiple gold medals. The Fort Worth resident proudly had his gold medal with him during a teaching session this week at the Fort Worth Trap & Skeet Club, saying it's the biggest and heaviest medal he owns.
"We're all vying for the same thing. We're always dreaming of winning that gold medal," Hancock said. "For me to be able to get there in Tokyo and do it for a third time is a complete dream come true."
Every Olympic medal features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens and the official name of the Games (this year's are called the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020) on the front. Host countries are able to change two things: the size of the medal and the design on the back.
According to the Tokyo Olympic Committee, the theme of Tokyo's medals were "light and brilliance" with patterns of light to represent athlete energy and "those who support them."
"Everything in Japan is laced in culture and history and simplicity," Hancock said. "They do a lot of things like that right over there, and this medal shows that."
Hancock said his gold medal from 2008 Beijing features white jade on the back, while his 2012 London is a complex design that includes the city's logo and an interlocking grid pattern.
Hancock, 32, is hopeful to add another gold medal at the 2024 Games in Paris. Hancock said he is fully committed to continuing his Olympic career in Paris, but is not sure beyond that. Competing in a U.S.-based Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028 is appealing to him but he doesn't know if that'll be in the cards.
"I know I'm going to Paris in '24. After that, we'll see," Hancock said. "My kids will be older. I'll be 39 when the L.A. Games roll around, but I was the youngest medalist in skeet this year. The bronze medalist was 57 years old and the silver medalist was around 40. I'm fully capable of doing this for a long time if I choose to. We'll see."
Nearing perfection in dominant victory
Nobody will question Hancock's talent level or longevity following his record-setting performance in Tokyo. He left little doubt about who the best skeet shooter in the world is.
Hancock needed a shoot-off to get into the finals after tying with six others, then pulled away. He hit a remarkable 59 of 60 targets in the finals to beat Jesper Hansen of Denmark by four. Abdullah Alrashidi of Kuwait took bronze.
That more than made up for a disappointing 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro in which Hancock finished 15th.
"This was the first time we shot 60 in the finals, so whoever won was going to have an Olympic record," Hancock said. "Thankfully I figured out what I did wrong [to land in a shoot-off] and then had a great run in the final.
"I couldn't have asked for much better. I won by four targets over second place, which I believe is the most margin of victory."
Asked about the one miss, Hancock just shook his head. He was locked in during the finals but that particular target was "irregular" in that it came out of the low house and didn't fall down as previous ones had.
Complicating matters were the lighting conditions with a partly cloudy sky and a green backdrop that had faded since being installed for what was expected to be an Olympics a year earlier before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed it.
"All of the targets had been going down and I hit the first one then the second ... I just couldn't find it," Hancock said. "I looked and waited and waited and then watched my shot hit the screen. I was like, 'Well, I missed that one.' I did everything I could. That's just the way it went."
The rest of it went flawlessly. After all, he found himself on top of the podium with the national anthem playing by the end of it.
"You're flooded with emotions. It's so many years of work, thousands of hours of preparation and it all culminates in this one event," Hancock said. "Getting to stand in front of all your friends and the other athletes that are there, and watch the American flag being raised and listen to the national anthem with this medal hung around my neck, there's nothing else that compares to it."
Tokyo experience
Hancock is an Olympic veteran. He's seen packed houses in Beijing, London and Rio.
Tokyo had a different feel with no fans being allowed. The athletes had to adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols, too, including departing within 48 hours from the end of their competition.
"We were essentially confined to two areas — the Olympic village and then the shooting facility," Hancock said. "Not having fans in the stands was very different, especially walking into the opening ceremony. That was crazy with no fans there. Everything was just so subdued compared to the other Games."
But Hancock is thankful that the Games were held and had no complaints about the amenities.
"The Japanese people we did see on the side of the road who were cheering for us and all of the volunteers were great," Hancock said. "I would've loved to see what Japan could have done, what Tokyo could have done, if it was full go."
Did you know?
The U.S. pays $37,500 to athletes for each gold medal won in Tokyo. Silver medalists receive $22,500 while bronze medalists receive $15,000.
