SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The two flagbearers for the United States team at the Pan American Games in Chile won gold medals on Sunday.
Veteran shooter Vincent Hancock took his third Pan American Games title in skeet shooting, while gymnast Jordan Chiles led the women's team to the all-round gold in Santiago. The two carried the Star-Spangled Banner during Friday's opening ceremony at the National Stadium.
Hancock, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, defeated Argentina’s Federico Gil. Both missed just one of their first 26 shots, but the American eventually won 57 to 55. The 35-year-old Gil won not only a silver medal, but also a quota spot at the Paris Olympics next year.
Peru’s Nicolas Pacheco took the bronze in Santiago's cloudy afternoon and also secured a place in France since Hancock had already done that at the world championship.
Shortly after putting the gold medal around his neck, Hancock went to social media to repost one of his videos in action from May 2022 with the soundtrack of Sage the Gemini's “Tick Tick Boom.”
“What’s the key to staying on top? Motivation,” he wrote.
The 34-year-old Hancock has been a shooter since he was a child. He used to spend hours taking down inanimate objects with a BB gun near his Georgia home. The American started competing when he was 11 years old. Five years later, he won his first World Championship title in men’s skeet.
The U.S. Army veteran has said he wants to compete at two more Olympics before retiring.
A few hours later, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chiles led the U.S. to its sixth straight women’s team Pan American gold medal. A friend of gymnastics legend Simone Biles, the 22-year-old from Tualatin, Oregon, pushed the Americans to victory against Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade's Brazil.
“It was really cool to be the flagbearer, then coming out here to win gold with an amazing team,” Chiles told journalists after winning her title. The U.S team also included Kayla DiCello, and newcomers Zoe Miller, Kaliya Lincoln and Tiana Sumanasekera.
The U.S. finished the second day of competitions in Chile with 46 medals, including 20 golds. Mexico was second at 18 medals, 10 gold.
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