2012 London Summer Olympics

[ Check Out Stunning Pictures from the Opening Ceremony ]

U.S. Army sergeant Vincent Hancock, who almost quit skeet shooting last year to train marksmen at Fort Benning in Georgia, found the motivation at the Royal Artillery Barracks to shoot down a Gold Medal with an Olympic record to boot.

Hancock shot a 148 out of 150 to become the first skeet shooter in history to retain the title he won at Beijing in 2008.

Denmark's Anders Golding bagged the silver, while Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar beat Russia's Valeriy Shomin in the shoot-off to take bronze. It was an interesting mix of shooters who finished on the podium.

While Hancock is a sergeant, al-Attiyah's first love is rallying. Winner of the Production World Rally Championship (PWRC) in 2006 and the treacherous Dakar Rally in 2011, luck didn't favor this Qatari when it came to the Olympic Games.

He finished fourth in Athens (2004) and 15th overall at Beijing (2008), but finally struck bronze with an aggregate score of 144, but not before he was stretched till the sixth shot in shoot-off by Shomin.

Hancock emerged as the leader after the qualifying round, 'killing' 123 'birds' out of a maximum of 125 - one shot ahead of Golding. The American didn't miss even a single 'bird' in the finals (25/25) to emerge an easy winner.

Hancock's compatriot in the women's section, Kim Rhode, had also equaled the world record on way to gold a couple of days back.

 

 

Army Sergeant Hancock Shoots Down Skeet Gold for Second Time