Following an early start on Sunday where Will Shaner scored a record-setting gold in Men's 10m Air Rifle, Amber English and Vincent Hancock made a clean sweep of the Men's and Women's Skeet Shooting Competitions on Monday.  

English, a first lieutenant in the Army Marksmanship Unit and one of a dozen Soldier-athletes of the World Class Athlete Program representing Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics, broke an Olympic record with 56 shots of 60 shots to earn the gold. The 31-year-old Olympian from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was clocking in for her first Olympics and has been shooting since age six. She was a gold medalist in the mixed skeet team at the 2021 World Cup in Lonato.  
 

Army 1st Lt. Amber English holds her shotgun above her head after the women's skeet shooting competition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, July 26, 2021. (Photo: U.S. Army) 


"The Olympics highlight target shooting in a positive light and on a national scale. This publicity alone is a win for the shooting sports world," observed the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports. "Watching a woman from Team USA bring home the Gold and set a new Olympic record is icing on the cake!"
 

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"Vinny" Hancock, attending his fourth straight Olympics in Tokyo this summer, picked up his third career Olympics gold medal, standing atop the podium Monday in Men's Skeet after hitting an impressive new Olympics record of 59 of 60 shots. Importantly, the 32-year-old Olympian from Eatonton, Georgia, is the only person in history to earn three gold medals in Men's Skeet, having won in 2008 and 2012 already. As noted by USA Shooting, he is also a four-time World Champion, 16-time World Cup medalist (including 12 wins), and five-time World Cup Finals medalist.

The back-to-back wins by English and Hancock bring to three the number of gold medals earned by the USA team in shooting sports in Tokyo, however, it may not be the last. Mary Tucker and Lucas Kozeniesky are reportedly guaranteed to medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team competition on Tuesday. 

Shooting events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 include 101 nations, 356 athletes, and 447 total starts. USA Shooting counts 20 of those athletes and 22 starts.  

Banner image: Army 1st Lt. Amber English holds the American flag as she celebrates her gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, July 26, 2021. (Photo: U.S. Army)

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