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US teen Vincent Hancock wins men's skeet gold
Agencies
Updated: 2008-08-16 15:42
Vincent Hancock of the US celebrates his victory next to a team mate during the men's skeet shooting final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 16, 2008. [Agencies] |
BEIJING -- American teenager Vincent Hancock won a thrilling shoot-out in men's skeet on Saturday to give the United States their second Olympic gold medal in shooting.
Hancock, 19, kept his nerve in a gripping sudden-death duel at the Beijing shooting range against Tore Brovold of Norway after the two sharpshooters had finished even on 145 points from two days of qualifying and Saturday's finals.
Anthony Terras of France won a shoot-out against Antonis Nikolai of Cyprus to claim the bronze medal.
"It's awesome, I love it," Hancock told reporters when asked how it felt to win a gold medal at age 19.
Hancock, a soldier in the US Army Marksmanship Unit, had led Brovold by one point going into the 25-shot final and was on course for gold with a perfect 20-for-20. But he missed a target, sending a gasp through the big crowd of US supporters.
"I wasn't nervous at all in the final round," Hancock said. "Going in here I was really confident about my shooting, my shooting was really good. I missed that target and it made me more determined."
Hancock bounced right back, hitting his final four shots and then confidently stepping up in the shoot-out with his 12-gauge shotgun to blast away all four of his sudden-death targets.
Brovold got his first two targets but missed one of his final two shots after hitting a perfect 25-for-25 in the final to force the shoot-off.
Andrea Benelli of Italy, who won the gold medal in skeet in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, failed to reach the six-man finals in Beijing, finishing back in 24th place.
The United States has won two golds, two silvers and two bronze medals in shooting, which concludes on Sunday.