57-year-old shooter Abdullah Al-Rashidi won Kuwait’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s skeet shooting competition as he claimed a bronze at the Asaka Shooting Range, on Monday morning. Al-Rashidi finished the event’s final with a total of 46 points. Meanwhile, America’s Vincent Hancock set a new Olympic record of 59 to claim the gold medal ahead of Denmark’s Jesper Hansen, who scored 55.
Abdullah Al-Rashidi wins Bronze Medal in Tokyo Olympics
Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Rashidi won a second career Olympics bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in his seventh attempt. The first bronze came in at Rio 2016 Olympics when he competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete. Al-Rashidi had previously taken part in five other games. He finished in 42nd position at the 1996 Atalanta Olympics, 14th at Sydney 2000, ninth at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and 21st at the 2012 London Summer Games.
At the Olympic Games men’s skeet qualification Day 1 on Sunday, Abdullah Al-Rashidi finished joint sixth with three rounds of 25, 25, and 24 for a total of 74 out of 75. On Day 2, he followed up his Day 1 score with 25 and 23 to finish with a total score of 122 (25, 25, 24, 25, and 23). This score was enough for him to confirm his place in the final later in the day.
Vincent Hancock wins third career gold in skeet shooting
U.S. shooter Vincent Hancock earned a third career gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics by setting a new Olympic record on 26 July. The 32-year-old hit a stunning 59 out of a possible 60 targets. Previously, Hancock had won the gold in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 before finishing a disappointing 15th in Rio 2016. With Amber English winning the women’s skeet shooting competition, the United States won all the gold medals in the event.
Hancock has undoubtedly been the world’s best skeet shooter as alongside his three Olympic gold medals, he has also won four world championships and six World Cup events. He was also the first United States skeet shooter to complete a perfect World Cup event when he hit every target at a 2015 competition in Mexico.