Americans Vincent Hancock, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, and Samantha Simonton swept the men’s and women’s skeet shooting world titles in Greece on Sunday.
Hancock, one of seven athletes across all sports to win the same individual Olympic event at least four times, hit 59 of 60 targets for his fifth individual world title and his first since 2018.
Hancock has now gone 20 years spanning his first world title in 2005 at age 16 to Sunday’s triumph.
Come 2028, Hancock can bid to become the second athlete to win the same individual Olympic event five times after Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López. Katie Ledecky could also bid for a fifth Olympic gold in swimming’s 800m freestyle.
Simonton, a 25-year-old who began international skeet shooting at age 15 under the direction of Hancock’s father, Craig, hit 57 of 60 targets for her first world title.
Simonton was a Tokyo Olympic alternate and earned bronze at the 2022 Worlds.
Skeet has been the U.S.’ most successful shooting event at recent Olympics. Hancock won gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. An American woman made the skeet podium at each of the last five Olympics.
The World Shotgun Championships continue later this week with trap finals on Friday.
