CHANGWON, South Korea (May 11, 2019)
It’s been quite a 24 hours for America’s international skeet team. Three medals, two victories, a first-time World Cup medalist, historical precedence and a whole lot of the Red, White and Blue being raised at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. And to think, it’s only day three.
One day after Kim Rhode’s latest triumph, Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Georgia) and Christian Elliott (Indiana) laid down another skeet masterpiece, consuming the top two spots on the podium. Hancock’s mastery of the sport continues as it was the fifth straight World Cup victory in which he’s been present and the sixth consecutive international victory overall when you factor in the world title he earned last year on this same range.
The year was 1993 the last time you saw the USA own the top two spots on a World Cup podium in skeet when Edward McCamish, Todd Graves and Bill Roy swept a World Cup event in Los Angeles. That’s the only other time since World Cup events began in 1986 that has happened.
The 30-year-old Hancock clinched his 12th overall World Cup victory at the same place he earned his first career victory. At this rate, local shooting officials in Changwon might think about renaming the range Hancock’s House. It is his second World Cup win of the year, after triumphing in Acapulco in March while earning three World Cup victories in 2018 as well.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist Hancock earned his way to the top podium spot Saturday by qualifying first with 123 targets and beating Elliott in a shoot-off, 10-9, to earn the top Finals position. Once in the Final, Hancock did what he’s been
