LONDON – Vincent Hancock nearly retired from competition a year ago, then decided to chase another Olympic gold medal. It turned out to be a smart move. At 23, the American is now a two-time Olympic champion in men's skeet shooting, successfully defending his crown Tuesday with a score of 148 to take the top spot at the London Games. Anders Golding of Denmark finished two targets back to win the silver, and Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiya won a shoot-off over Russia's Valery Shomin for the bronze at the Royal Artillery Barracks. “Being able to stand back up there again, and listen to the national anthem again, it's got to be better,” said Hancock, a US Army sergeant and the first skeet shooter to win consecutive Olympic titles. “But it hasn't set in fully yet.” Hancock's win gave the US a skeet sweep, after Kimberly Rhode won the women's competition earlier this week. “I firmly believe that I'm shooting better right now than I ever have in my entire career,” Hancock said. After setting an Olympic record with a score of 123 (out of a possible 125) in qualifying Tuesday, Hancock entered the medal round with a one-target lead. And when Golding missed, Hancock's lead was two with seven targets remaining. — AP
