The U.S. Olympic shooting team brought back five medals and made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Chateauroux Shooting Range in France July 26- Aug. 11.
Sagen Maddalena, a Groveland, California native, earned the first U.S. medal in shooting with a silver in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle. In an exciting final, Maddalena, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, defeated Qiongyue Zhang, of China, who finished in third place. View official results here. Maddalena also made the final for Women’s 10m Air Rifle and finished fourth.
Vincent Hancock, of Eatonton, Georgia, earned the second U.S. shooting medal and made Olympic history. He earned his fourth gold medal in Men’s Skeet, becoming the sixth Olympian ever to win four gold medals in the same event, joining Al Oerter (USA, discus), Paul Elvstrom (Denmark, sailing one-person class), Carl Lewis (USA, long jump), Michael Phelps (USA, 200m individual medley), and Mijain Lopez (Cuba, Greco-Roman heavyweight). He is the first shooting Olympian to accomplish this feat.
Conner Prince, of Burleson, Texas, joined Hancock on the podium when he won silver in Men’s Skeet. Prince and Hancock’s double podium marks the first time the U.S. has earned more than one medal in Men’s Skeet at an Olympic Games. The was also the first time more than one U.S. athlete competed in an Olympic Men’s Skeet final. View official results here.
Austen Smith, of Keller, Texas, secured her first Olympic medal in Women’s Skeet. Smith shot an overall qualification score of 122/125. She tied Amber Rutter, of Great Britian, in qualifications and then won a 14 point shoot off, earning herself the number one bib for the final. In the final, Smith bested Vanessa Hockova, of Slovakia, who placed fourth. View official results here.
Smith and Hancock paired up to win the fifth and final medal for USA in Mixed Team Skeet. The duo earned silver, falling just short to Italy in the gold medal match. Smith and Hancock were a favorite for a medal as they are the 2023 world champions in the event. The pair makes a dynamic team as Hancock is Smith’s coach. Hancock also coaches Prince alongside Smith at the Northlake Shooting Sports in Northlake Texas, a facility he co-owns.
More history was made in Paris when Katelyn Abeln qualified for the Women’s 25m Sport Pistol final. Abeln, of Douglasville, Georgia, is the first U.S. woman to ever qualify for an Olympic pistol final. She finished eighth overall. View official results here.
USA Shooting’s overall Paralympic and Olympic medal count is now up to 126.
See all of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games medals below:
- Sagen Maddalena: Silver, Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle
- Vincent Hancock: Gold, Men’s Skeet
- Conner Prince: Silver, Men’s Skeet
- Austen Smith: Bronze, Women’s Skeet
- Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith: Silver, Mixed Team Skeet
The Paralympic team is getting ready for their Games to start, Aug. 28- Sept. 8. View the full schedule of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games here.
Follow @USAShooting on Instagram, Facebook, and X to learn all about USA Shooting and their results in Paris 2024.
Read the full article here