HANCOCK Vincent

General
RIO BLUES FUELS TOKYO AMBITION
He is targeting a return to the podium at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after a 15th-placed finish in skeet at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I've done my best to try to forget Rio. I was not in the right frame of mind. I know that I wasn't, and looking back on it I let myself get irritated by a lot of things, get taken away by a lot of things, and it's something that I'm aware of now. I try to be more conscientious of my thought process, of not letting things bother me. This time around I'm going to have my wife and my two daughters with me, and I'm a big family guy. Home, for me, is where the heart is, and my heart is going to be with me in Tokyo, so I know I'm going to put my best foot forward trying to get another medal." (teamusa.org, 08 Mar 2020)

WIFE'S SUPPORT
He considered quitting the sport in 2011 after his form dipped, but decided to continue following encouragement from his wife Rebekah. "My wife has helped me more than anyone. In 2011, I was doing horrible in competitions and just really didn't want to do it anymore. But, she told me to pray about it, think about it, and then decide what I wanted to do. After doing that I felt like this is where I belong and I re-dedicated myself to the sport. My wife has been my rock since I was 18 years old when we got married." (archivepyc.nbcolympics.com, 24 May 2016; teamusa.org, 08 Mar 2020)

ARMY CAREER AND ACADEMY
He served in the US Army for six years, and left the service in 2012 to help his father open the Hancock Shooting Academy in Eatonton, GA, United States of America. "My sports shooting experience helped me focus on my brothers in arms [in the army], and it taught me not to be selfish. I learned how to be part of a team while I was growing up in shooting sports and I learned what it's like to be part of something bigger than myself." (caes.uga.edu, 01 Apr 2013; jacksonville.com, 20 Nov 2012)

He became the first US skeet shooter to win three world championship titles when he won gold at the 2015 World Championships in Lonato, Italy. He then became the first US skeet shooter to win four world titles when he claimed gold at the 2018 edition in Changwon, Republic of Korea. (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2019; ssusa.org, 13 Dec 2018)

He became the first US shotgun shooter to score a perfect World Cup match, when he did not miss a single target in qualification, the semifinal or the gold medal match in the men's skeet at the 2015 World Cup event in Acapulco, Mexico. (aroundtherings.com, 10 Mar 2015; nranews.com, 01 Apr 2015)

He became the first skeet shooter from any nation to win two gold medals at the Olympic Games when he stood on top of the podium in 2008 and 2012. (SportsDeskOnline, 13 Jan 2020; federalpremium.com, 25 Feb 2019)