COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (March 11, 2018) –Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock marked his return to international competition after a year hiatus by closing the first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup of the season in the best way possible – equaling the Finals World Record of 59/60 hits then winning the gold medal in a shootoff.

Hancock (Eatonton, Georgia) finished the 60 shots of the Final tied for the World Record with Paul Adams of Australia, sending the decision for gold or silver to a shootoff. Hancock won the shootoff, 6-5. Adams would claim the silver medal and Tammaro Cassandro of Italy would take the bronze. Today’s win marks Hancock’s eighth World Cup gold medal, 12th medal overall.

Hancock finished Qualification in first place with 123/125 hits. Fellow American Frank Thompson (Alliance, Nebraska) had to fight to earn the last Finals spot as seven athletes were tied at the end of Qualification with 119 hits.  Thompson withstood a 10-target shootoff to claim the last Finals position, however, he would be eliminated in fifth place.Eli Christman (Hixson, Tennessee) finished in 24th place with a score of 113.

The USA Shooting Team would close out this ISSF World Cup season opener second in the medal count to India with six medals, all won by the U.S. in the Shotgun events (three gold, one silver and two bronze).  Read more about these medal-winning performances at www.usashooting.org.

More than 400 athletes from 50 countries competed at this ISSF World Cup in 15 medal events. Complete results from the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara are available here: http://www.issf-sports.org/competitions/venue.ashx?cshipid=2390.

*Photo courtesy of ISSF

About USA Shooting: USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting's mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at usashooting.org and on Twitter attwitter.com/USAShooting.

ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world's most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit eley.co.uk.

Winchester Ammunition is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team: Winchester Ammunition has been the exclusive ammunition sponsor and supplier of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team since 1999. Members of the past three shotgun teams brought home a combined eight medals from London, Beijing and Rio using Winchester AA International Target loads. Winchester is an industry leader in advancing and supporting conservation, hunter education and our country's proud shooting sports heritage. For more information about Winchester and its complete line of products, visit winchester.com