Factbox: Vincent Hancock

Vincent Hancock of the United States competes during Men's Skeet Final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 16, 2008. Vincent Hancock won the gold in the event.(Xinhua/Bao Feifei) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- American teenage shooter Vincent Hancock snatched the Olympic gold medal of men's skeet at the Beijing Shooting Range on Saturday, with an Olympic record of 145 hits.

    Norwegian Tore Brovold collected the same score but lost in the shoot-off to get a silver. The bronze was gained by Frenchman Anthony Terras with 144 hits.

    Hancock, world record holder with a staggering full mark of 150 hits, topped the tally of qualification this time with 121 hits, one point ahead of co-second Brovold, Terras and Antonis Nikolaidis from Cyprus.

    In the final, the 19-year-old world champion took the lead until the six series, when he missed the second one of the three clay targets.

    Nikolaidis missed the eighth bird while Terras let go of the 13th to end in a draw.

    Brovold, 38-year-old champion at 2004 World Cup Final and bronze-medalist in 2006 World Championships and World Cup Final, managed to finish his performance in a stretch without misses, forcing his American rival to a shoot-off.

    Standing at the fourth position, one that was considered hardest, the pair both caught the first pair of plates.

    In the second pair, the Norwegian shot down the first but saw the second churning to the left.

    Hancock, who appeared a little bit nervous by frequently wiping his hands, downed both at the breathtaking moment.

    Turning around, he saw his 74-year-old coach jumping in excitement.

    "I have always dreamed of getting gold and now I've got it," said the smiling champion.

    Talking about his missed target, Hancock said he didn't see it.

    "I took my time on it and I guess my vision was blurred," he said. "I wasn't nervous during the competition until then. When I missed the low house shot it only made me more determined."

    The shooter felt sorry for Brovold, who had equaled his world record at the European Championships this past July.

    "I hoped that he wouldn't miss (in the shoot-off) because me and Tore are really good friends...I was not expecting for him to miss, but I could feel the nervousness building up inside me, so I wasn't hoping for it to last much longer."

    Brovold said he was very nervous at the competition.

    When he missed his third target in the shoot-off, he thought it was a hit and he was about to protest. "But I was unsure about it, so I didn't."

    But generally speaking, the man was satisfied with his silver. "This is the biggest event in shooting you can experience, and I am very happy with the turnout," he said.

    "I felt like I won the silver, not lost the gold. I am very satisfied because after yesterday's competition, I thought I might have been out of the final."

    As Hancock was ranked first after the qualification round in day one, Brovold was only ninth with four misses. But he only missed one in day two's qualification.

    He also talked about the teen shooter. "I would have liked to beat Vinny because the whole time he kept saying he was going to win the gold medal, but I just wasn't able to beat him."

    Terras, 23, who finished ninth at Athens Olympics, had another shoot-off with Nikolaidis.

    Both shooters missed the second bird of the first pair, but the French shooter didn't repeat the mistake in the second pair and hence outscored the 41-year-old Cypriot.

    The bronze was Terras' first Olympic medal.

    "This is something extraordinary," he said. "This medal represents hours, days, weeks, months of sacrifices. It represents the time I spent working on it and those who helped me. I want to thank you all who have helped me to get where I am."

    The shooter started in the sport at the age of 13. An avid fan of hunting, he was on a hike with his parents in Megeve, France, when gunshots from a shooting club attracted him.

    He also considered the fourth position the most difficult for everybody. "When the targets come from different angles, it's very difficult, but this sport is like that." He only missed his target in the final at position No. 4.

    Chinese shooter Qu Ridong, with 118 hits, advanced into the final after a shoot-off with six other shooters including his teammate Jin Di. He missed just the last target at the fourth position. But previous score gap was so big that he remained as sixth.

    "I am a little sad and my score is not very high, especially at some easy positions," he said. "Basically I am up to my normal level and I concentrate on my own shooting, but it's a pity that I can't go further."

Vincent Hancock of the United States celebrates after Men's Skeet Final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 16, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

Vincent Hancock of the United States celebrates with his coach after Men's Skeet Final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 16, 2008.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>