Paris Olympics: Vincent Hancock and Paige Madden Aim for More Medals on Saturday

Vincent Hancock’s Quest for Fourth Gold in Men’s Skeet

Troy graduate Vincent Hancock is on track to secure his fourth gold medal in men’s skeet at the Paris Olympics. On Friday, at the Chateauroux Shooting Center, Hancock achieved a flawless performance in the initial three 25-shot qualifying rounds, emerging as the only competitor to hit every target. He will enter Saturday's final two qualifying rounds with an impeccable score of 75 out of 75. The top six qualifiers will proceed to the medal round on Saturday.

Hancock has previously won gold in the men’s skeet competition at the Beijing, London, and Tokyo Olympics. A victory in Paris would make him the sixth athlete and the fourth American to win the same Olympic event four times.

Paige Madden Eyes Another Medal in Swimming

Mobile’s Paige Madden is set to compete for another medal on Saturday. After securing a silver medal with the U.S. women’s 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay team on Thursday, the former UMS-Wright standout recorded the second-fastest time in the women’s 800-meter freestyle heat races at Paris La Defense Arena. Madden clocked an impressive 8:18.48 on Friday, trailing only her U.S. teammate Katie Ledecky, who holds the world and Olympic records and posted a time of 8:16.62.

Madden had previously finished sixth in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Close Contests in the Pool

Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev, an Alabama alum, narrowly missed a medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle by just 0.03 seconds. On Thursday, Gkolomeev advanced to the semifinals with a time of 21.86 seconds, improving to 21.62 seconds to reach Friday’s medal race. In the final, he finished fifth with a time of 21.59 seconds, edging out Olympic record-holder Caeleb Dressel by 0.02 seconds.

Australia’s Cameron McEvoy won the event in 21.25 seconds, followed by Great Britain’s Benjamin Proud (21.30) and France’s Florent Manaudou (21.56). Canada’s Josh Liendo finished just ahead of Gkolomeev with a time of 21.58.

Other Notable Performances

Peru’s McKenna de Bever, representing Auburn, competed in the women’s 200-meter individual medley, finishing fifth in Heat 2 with a time of 2:17.61, which was not enough to advance to the semifinals. Similarly, Palestine’s Valerie Tarazi, also from Auburn, swam the same event in 2:20.56, ranking second to last among 35 competitors.

U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Reaches Quarterfinals

The U.S. men’s soccer team, captained by Birmingham’s Tanner Tessmann, reached the quarterfinals of the Paris tournament for the first time since 2000 but fell to Morocco 4-0 on Friday at Parc des Princes. Tessmann played the full match and recorded four of the team’s nine shots, including the only one on target. The U.S. advanced to the knockout stage after defeating New Zealand 4-1 and Guinea 3-0, following a 3-0 loss to France.

Daniel Haugh and Olivia Fotopoulou's Olympic Journeys

At Stade de France, Alabama’s Daniel Haugh did not advance in the men’s hammer throw after failing to record a qualifying attempt. Canada’s Rowan Hamilton led the qualification group with a throw of 77.78 meters. Haugh, who won the U.S. Olympic Trials with a 79.51-meter throw, entered the Paris Games ranked sixth in the world but finished 11th in Tokyo.

Cyrus’ Olivia Fotopoulou, also from Alabama, ran 11.50 seconds in Heat 2 of Round 1 in the women’s 100-meter dash, finishing seventh and not advancing to the semifinals.