Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith earned gold in Mixed Skeet Team at the 2023 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 20. Photo by Brittany Nelson, USA Shooting Communications Manager
By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
BAKU, AZE- (Aug 22, 2023) – Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith topped the podium with a gold medal in Mixed Skeet Team at the 2023 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 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.
Hancock and Smith also earned gold medals in the Men’s and Women’s Skeet Team events, respectively. 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 Greece team, who earned silver.
Smith, Dania Vizzi, and Samantha Simonton set a new world record with their score of 365/375, besting 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 duos second international gold medal of 2023. The pair earned first place in Mixed Skeet Team at the 2023 ISSF Lonato World Cup in 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. Smith will be making her Pan American Games debut.
The USA Shooting trap team begins their World Championship competition tomorrow, Aug. 23.
Sagen Maddalena earned bronze in Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position Aug. 21. Her qualification score combined with Sarah Beard and Mary Tucker’s earned the Women’s team a gold medal and a new team world record. USA Shooting has a total of six World Championship medals thus far.
For all 2023 World Championship scores, visit: https://www.issf-sports.org/competition ... hipid=3085
For photos, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usashooti ... 0310449581
Follow @USAShooting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all of the latest updates and results.