A perfect score was required to win the gold medal in the men's skeet, which went to Christian Elliott, who was top of an all-American podium at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, Qatar.
Clearing all 36 targets, he was able to stay just ahead of Olympic champion Vincent Hancock and Dustan Taylor who placed second and third.
Qualification
The favourite on paper, Vincent Hancock scored a perfect 125 to take the top spot in the seeding, and was followed by compatriot Dustan Taylor in second, tied with Italian Gabriele Rossetti of Italy on 123.
Denmark's Jesper Hansen was followed by Sweden's Henrik Jansson and Rashid Saleh M J Al-Athba, the first Qatari to make the final this year in Doha. Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen from Denmark and Christian Elliott of the United States finished on 120 to take the final spots, meaning Chile's Hector Flores, China's Han Xu and Qatar's Ali Ahmed A O Al-Ishaq missed out.
Clearing all 36 targets, he was able to stay just ahead of Olympic champion Vincent Hancock and Dustan Taylor who placed second and third.
Qualification
The favourite on paper, Vincent Hancock scored a perfect 125 to take the top spot in the seeding, and was followed by compatriot Dustan Taylor in second, tied with Italian Gabriele Rossetti of Italy on 123.
Denmark's Jesper Hansen was followed by Sweden's Henrik Jansson and Rashid Saleh M J Al-Athba, the first Qatari to make the final this year in Doha. Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen from Denmark and Christian Elliott of the United States finished on 120 to take the final spots, meaning Chile's Hector Flores, China's Han Xu and Qatar's Ali Ahmed A O Al-Ishaq missed out.
The Final
The women's skeet final showed nothing short of perfection would do in an athlete's bid for the gold medal in this new skeet format.
For Christian Elliott, who snuck into the final in eighth place, it was a change of fortune, clearing all of his first 12 targets, alongside his teammates Vincent Hancock and Dustan Taylor. This put them ahead of the rest, as Gabriele Rossetti and Henrik Jansson missed on shot four, Rashid Al-Athba on shot 11 and Jesper Hansen on shot 12.
The harsh nature of the new format meant the Qatari would miss out based on his start number of six with just one miss - showing the increased importance of qualification. He would finish seventh with Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen joining him after the double miss in his second double.
At the front, the Americans continued to surge forward, with both Elliott and Taylor staying perfect after 24 targets. Hancock's chances of taking that elusive ISSF World Cup Final gold took a dent when he recorded his first miss on the 24th, but managed to stay ahead of Rossetti, who would also miss on this target.
But the Italian's one miss would save him from the next elimination. Hansen would miss in consecutive series, while Jansson had a double miss on targets 15 and 16. These two misses would see their medal hopes end.
The women's skeet final showed nothing short of perfection would do in an athlete's bid for the gold medal in this new skeet format.
For Christian Elliott, who snuck into the final in eighth place, it was a change of fortune, clearing all of his first 12 targets, alongside his teammates Vincent Hancock and Dustan Taylor. This put them ahead of the rest, as Gabriele Rossetti and Henrik Jansson missed on shot four, Rashid Al-Athba on shot 11 and Jesper Hansen on shot 12.
The harsh nature of the new format meant the Qatari would miss out based on his start number of six with just one miss - showing the increased importance of qualification. He would finish seventh with Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen joining him after the double miss in his second double.
At the front, the Americans continued to surge forward, with both Elliott and Taylor staying perfect after 24 targets. Hancock's chances of taking that elusive ISSF World Cup Final gold took a dent when he recorded his first miss on the 24th, but managed to stay ahead of Rossetti, who would also miss on this target.
But the Italian's one miss would save him from the next elimination. Hansen would miss in consecutive series, while Jansson had a double miss on targets 15 and 16. These two misses would see their medal hopes end.
Only Perfection Delivers the Gold for Elliott
Vincent Hancock is very familiar with the top spot on the podium and he is very familiar with the ISSF World Cup Final, but not both together. It feels inevitable that athletes come back into his clutches during finals, but today, that would not happen. After the miss on the 24th, Hancock did all he could, hoping a slip would come behind him, finishing on 35.
Having that top starting number put the pressure on behind too. He cleared those first four of 12, meaning the others had to follow. Elliott and Taylor remained perfect, meaning Rossetti would miss out in fourth. The seeding came back in Hancock's favour in the next four shots, having scored all four with Elliott, but a first miss from Taylor took him from fighting for gold to settling for the bronze medal in a matter of minutes.
Hancock continued to shoot well, striking all of his remaining targets. Elliott, who was making his second ISSF World Cup Final appearance six years on, dealt with the pressure well to end with a perfect 36 and a triumphant cheer for his first gold in the competition. Hancock has now won seven silver medals at the ISSF World Cup Final in eight appearances. Taylor would also win his first medal at the competition with bronze.
Vincent Hancock is very familiar with the top spot on the podium and he is very familiar with the ISSF World Cup Final, but not both together. It feels inevitable that athletes come back into his clutches during finals, but today, that would not happen. After the miss on the 24th, Hancock did all he could, hoping a slip would come behind him, finishing on 35.
Having that top starting number put the pressure on behind too. He cleared those first four of 12, meaning the others had to follow. Elliott and Taylor remained perfect, meaning Rossetti would miss out in fourth. The seeding came back in Hancock's favour in the next four shots, having scored all four with Elliott, but a first miss from Taylor took him from fighting for gold to settling for the bronze medal in a matter of minutes.
Hancock continued to shoot well, striking all of his remaining targets. Elliott, who was making his second ISSF World Cup Final appearance six years on, dealt with the pressure well to end with a perfect 36 and a triumphant cheer for his first gold in the competition. Hancock has now won seven silver medals at the ISSF World Cup Final in eight appearances. Taylor would also win his first medal at the competition with bronze.
What the Athletes Had to Say
Christian Elliott: "God has been so good to me this year. It's unmatched. My journey in the sport has clicked at the beginning of this year, I had success early and confidence is through the roof. We have a good team in the United States. When we come, we're up for a fight. One target missed is second, it's a powerful group of people. I'm thankful for my team and my coaches and my people back home for the support. I couldn't be happier.
"It's a year for the record books. If I see half of this again I will be happy. This will go down as one of my best years unless I make the Olympic team and have success there. What a cherry on top for a great year.
"The new format is quick. It's a sprint. You're shooting 125 targets over two days and you're boiled down to 12 and then past that 12 more for 24 and 36. With eight athletes, it really is a sprint, it pays to be perfect, but even then I foresee some people being perfect in the first 12 and being bibbed out, which will enhance the need for a good qualification score for a good number."
Vincent Hancock: "I feel good, I shot as good as I could. I made one little error which cost me a target, but that's the thing competing against these athletes - these are the best of the best. In skeet right now, if you miss one, you're out, especially with this shortened final, there's no room for error.
"The new format is a little nerve-wracking, because you drop so many athletes at the beginning on so few targets, so from a timing perspective, it's a lot faster which is a good thing for spectators, TV and even for athletes too, but as an athlete, we want a few more targets to go after, but it is what it is. I think this is what we will be moving forward with and we will all have to learn how to get better one way or another to win. You can't miss.
"This season has been very good for me. It's been somewhat low stress but also high stress because when you don't compete on a monthly basis, those events tend to have a bit more weight. I can tell you my heart was racing at the beginning of this. 12 targets and they drop two. These guys are awesome and I'd better hit all these targets. When I got through those first 12 or eight I started to settle down and felt confident the whole way through and one target through the whole competition cost me."
Dustan Taylor: "It feels pretty good. I think the most exciting part for me was being able to put all three of us in the final which I thought was probably the coolest part of the whole ordeal and shooting the new final was a lot of fun.
"I think we mentioned but all going out to eat together, so that will be pretty cool. This was kinda a replay of our selection match and one target decided the entire thing and coming out here and shooting a new final was pretty cool and it was cool to see Christian shoot a perfect score. First time it's been run and a perfect score, pretty awesome.
"The one thing I've learned is if this is the final we are sticking to, it's definitely more nerve-wracking. You have to be able to handle that pressure a bit more because you don't have that 20-target buffer where you can maybe miss a target. You better be on. It's very exciting. It keeps everything moving a lot faster and keeps you on your toes as an athlete because you know the entire the chopping block is there and you've got to keep performing."
Christian Elliott: "God has been so good to me this year. It's unmatched. My journey in the sport has clicked at the beginning of this year, I had success early and confidence is through the roof. We have a good team in the United States. When we come, we're up for a fight. One target missed is second, it's a powerful group of people. I'm thankful for my team and my coaches and my people back home for the support. I couldn't be happier.
"It's a year for the record books. If I see half of this again I will be happy. This will go down as one of my best years unless I make the Olympic team and have success there. What a cherry on top for a great year.
"The new format is quick. It's a sprint. You're shooting 125 targets over two days and you're boiled down to 12 and then past that 12 more for 24 and 36. With eight athletes, it really is a sprint, it pays to be perfect, but even then I foresee some people being perfect in the first 12 and being bibbed out, which will enhance the need for a good qualification score for a good number."
Vincent Hancock: "I feel good, I shot as good as I could. I made one little error which cost me a target, but that's the thing competing against these athletes - these are the best of the best. In skeet right now, if you miss one, you're out, especially with this shortened final, there's no room for error.
"The new format is a little nerve-wracking, because you drop so many athletes at the beginning on so few targets, so from a timing perspective, it's a lot faster which is a good thing for spectators, TV and even for athletes too, but as an athlete, we want a few more targets to go after, but it is what it is. I think this is what we will be moving forward with and we will all have to learn how to get better one way or another to win. You can't miss.
"This season has been very good for me. It's been somewhat low stress but also high stress because when you don't compete on a monthly basis, those events tend to have a bit more weight. I can tell you my heart was racing at the beginning of this. 12 targets and they drop two. These guys are awesome and I'd better hit all these targets. When I got through those first 12 or eight I started to settle down and felt confident the whole way through and one target through the whole competition cost me."
Dustan Taylor: "It feels pretty good. I think the most exciting part for me was being able to put all three of us in the final which I thought was probably the coolest part of the whole ordeal and shooting the new final was a lot of fun.
"I think we mentioned but all going out to eat together, so that will be pretty cool. This was kinda a replay of our selection match and one target decided the entire thing and coming out here and shooting a new final was pretty cool and it was cool to see Christian shoot a perfect score. First time it's been run and a perfect score, pretty awesome.
"The one thing I've learned is if this is the final we are sticking to, it's definitely more nerve-wracking. You have to be able to handle that pressure a bit more because you don't have that 20-target buffer where you can maybe miss a target. You better be on. It's very exciting. It keeps everything moving a lot faster and keeps you on your toes as an athlete because you know the entire the chopping block is there and you've got to keep performing."