When Vincent Hanock won gold in men’s skeet, he outlasted American Conner Prince in the final two. When he earned silver in mixed team skeet, his partner was Austen Smith. 

The presence of Prince and Smith alongside Hancock on the Olympic podium is far from a coincidence — it was actually a process four years in the making dating back to the Tokyo Games.

Smith competed at her second Games in Paris, while it was an Olympic debut for Prince. Each won their first Olympic medal in Paris, and there's one person who they both thanked for that — their five-time Olympian coach, Vincent Hancock. 

Smith and Prince train under Hancock at his youth-focused center in Northlake, Texas.

The pair of new Olympic medalists recalled the moment Hancock knew they were going to be successful in the sport. 

“He and I’ve been talking about ever since he came back from the Tokyo Games that it was going to be him and I in the final in Paris,” Prince said. “That’s what we were planning on doing and we did it. We didn’t care who placed first or second, we were just going to be happy with each other. It’s awesome for me.”

For Smith, it was a fun time to shoot against some of the world’s best shooters alongside Hancock in the inaugural mixed team skeet event.

“Before the Games, we were already planning on shooting together in Paris,” Smith said. “We wanted to make the gold medal match, which we did. We knew our competition would be tough, but at the same time, we just wanted to go out there and have fun. At the end of the day, that’s all we really wanted to do and I think we accomplished that.” 

Sharing the podium with his pupils made this Olympic experience a distinctive one for Hancock. He knew he had to compete and win gold on his end, but at the same time, he wanted the best possible outcome for his students. 

“Everything that I’ve wanted to do for so many years has culminated at these Olympics,” Hancock said. “Having the opportunity to shoot alongside Conner and Austen was really special. Not only have I gotten to see them grow in their normal lives but I have also gotten to see them grow in the sport too. I know what they’re capable of. I was trying to talk them through and build them up over the course of the years. I saw them take everything that I taught them, and then turn it into their own.”

“Now, they’re their own athletes,” Hancock added. “They didn’t win a medal because of me, they won because of them.”

The lessons Smith and Prince learned from Hancock showed in the most crucial moments in their respective competitions. 

The young American duo knows that shooting is a sport in which the margins are razor-thin. An athlete must be nearly perfect to win a medal in the sport at the Olympics, and that’s exactly what Smith and Prince did. 

On top of her silver medal, Smith also won bronze in women’s skeet in what was a close match from the start, while Prince pushed Hancock to 60 shots, only to lose to his teacher by one.

“This sport is definitely mentally driven and based on how you think about it going into a competition,” Smith said. “A lot of our opponents are very accustomed to this environment. They’re shooting higher scores, so it's much harder for us to come out with a medal.”

Prince echoed Smith’s remarks on the playing field leveling in Olympic shooting.

“Every year the scores just get tighter and higher,” he said. “You always have to perform at your best. If I go out there and follow my processes, I’ll either come out No. 1 or behind Vinny. You definitely have to be on your A game, that’s for sure.”

Hancock noticed his teachings come across to Smith and Prince. But what stood out to him the most was how they were taking in the information and putting their twist on it. 

“They have taken everything that I can give them and then they’ve added to that,” Hancock said. “They’re beyond what I’ve ever taught them, and that’s the best thing that I can do. They don’t need me anymore, but thankfully, I got to be along for the ride.”

Hancock, 35, is now one of six Americans to win at least four gold medals in Olympic shooting. He also joins an elite group of athletes to win four gold medals in the same event, including Olympic legends Al Oerter, Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps. 

For Hancock, it felt like a full-circle moment in Paris. 

“Every Olympics, it seems like it means more to win a medal because it gets harder. As I’ve gotten older — and I think wiser — I’m able to understand that it’s not a given to win. To be able to take that experience and tell myself to enjoy this process, enjoy every little thing that comes along and take it all in. I try my best to do that, especially this time.”

Hancock added he enjoyed bringing his family along to the Paris Games. It was the first time he was able to celebrate winning gold with his wife and two kids, saying it would be a lasting memory for the rest of his life. 

His name will also be in the history books for the rest of his life. However, the Eatonton, Georgia, native prefers to look away from the record-breaking side of things. 

“I don’t really look at those things or worry about it,” he said. “I just take it one Olympics at a time, one competition at a time and just try to do my best. Wherever that lands me, it’s where it lands me. How many medals I end up with, that’s how many medals I end up with. I may not ever win another medal in my entire life, but I’ve had a lot of fun getting to this point.”