Vincent Hancock earned a historic fourth skeet men Olympic title at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre after overhauling his 24-year-old team-mate and sometime protégé Conner Prince in the final sequence of four shots.
For much of the final it seemed as if Prince would beat his mentor to gold. But Prince remains the Prince; and Hancock remains the King.
For the United States, who had only secured one medal in Olympic shooting competition before this final – the silver won in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions by Sagen Maddalena – it was a day to remember.
Once Chinese Taipei’s Asian champion Lee Meng Yuan had departed as bronze medallist with a total of 45 out of 50, the two Americans remained, tied on 48, with ten more scheduled shots to go.
Until this point Hancock knew he could not afford to remain level with his main rivals, who all had superior bib numbers. He had finished only fourth in the morning’s qualification on 123 out of 125 as Prince, Tammaro Cassandra of Italy and Lee finished in that order as all jointly equalled the Olympic Qualification record of 124.
Once the gold medal remained to be decided over the final 10 shots, however, the bib numbers no longer obtained in the event of level scores; it was all to shoot for. And Hancock, ice cold in the heat and tension, showed once again what a superlative Olympian he is.
With four shots to go, both were on 54. Prince went first, and missed the first of his final four efforts. Four out of four would secure another gold for the 35-year-old who had stood atop the podium at the Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.
And four out of four hits were secured. As he registered his victory this great champion seemed momentarily electrified by his achievement.
Like a great middle distance runner, he had remained in touch with the lead and then sprinted clear at the final moment.
The two team-mates soon embraced as the flags flurried in the stands.
Hancock had hit 28 clays in a row before he showed he was human by producing his first miss, and another five shots later put his ambitions in doubt. But there was never a flicker of weakness thereafter as the pressure gradually told on each of his opponents.
Nicolas Pacheco Espinosa of Peru was the first of the six finalists to make his exit, and looked devastated to do so. Next out was Sweden’s Stefan Nilsson, sixth at Tokyo 2020 and making his fourth Games appearance.
Cassandro was in the thick of it until the later stages, when his form fell away with three misses in the space of five effort, and he left in fourth place.
Asked how being described as a four-times gold medallist sounded, Hancock responded: “It sounds pretty good. It’s like a dream come true … again. It feels awesome. I couldn’t ask for any better.
“This was the hardest one yet. It seems like every time it gets harder.”
Asked about competing against his protégé, Prince, he responded:
“It was good to see him shooting the way he was and knowing I was going to have to bring everything I had to beat him. We’ve been going back and forth in practice for years now and I was just focused on doing the best I could and hopefully I’d get the chance.
"I’ve been telling him for several years that the only person who could break my records is him. He just proved it here that he’s ready for this stage. He has a long road ahead of him and he can be as good as he wants to be.”
On the subject of how difficult it was to focus on winning when he wanted Prince to do well:
“That’s the hardest part because I really wanted him to win but at the same time I also wanted to win. I’ve always told him, ‘I’m going to teach you everything I know,’ and it couldn’t have worked out any better, whether it was gold or silver.”
Hancock now joins the likes of his compatriots, track and field athlete Carl Lewis and swimmer Michael Phelps in having four individual golds in the same event.
“It’s pretty awesome,” he responded. Carl Lewis is probably my favourite Olympian and I’ve been lucky enough to watch Michael Phelps at a few Olympics I’ve been at. He’s an incredible athlete. Knowing my name is with their names … I have no words.
“It is emotional. My father passed away in November. He was my first coach in Beijing 2008 and having my mum here has been awesome. Although it’s sad my dad missed out on this, my wife and daughters got to be a part of it and feel the real energy out there. They got to see why I do what I do and why I work so hard.”
Prince commented: “When people say it is a dream, it truly is. It didn’t feel real, but it is. It is where I am now. It couldn’t be more real right now.
“I just had to take it one step at a time and one target at a time and just get all of my processes right.”
Asked whether it was bittersweet to be competing against Hancock for gold, he admitted: “It was a little bit. He’s my coach and he’s the man to beat. He’s probably the greatest shooter in the world, and for him to go No.1 and me No.2, it is honestly a dream.”
After taking Chinese Taipei’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Games, Lee said: "I am so happy I could cry. I am so excited to win this medal.
"It was really tough. I have never taken part in such a big event before, but I kept telling myself to stay focused."
"This is our first medal for Chinese Taipei and I am so happy and so excited. I am so proud of it."