- Another gold dressage: "Emotional Hurricane".
Shaking, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl watched the last ride of her competitors on a TV screen, then jumped into her husband Max's arms. Celebrations began at the warm-up area after her second gold. The 38-year-old won the individual title with her mare, just as she had with the team the day before, and was crowned dressage queen of the Olympic Games in the park of the Palace of Versailles. Silver went to Isabell Werth with Wendy.
"It was very stressful," the winner reported about the tense moments: "Those were, I think, the most stressful minutes. I didn't know where the result would come first, on the screen or on the scoreboard. I died a few deaths." Then an "emotional storm" broke out, she reported: "I had to cry." Her horse remained unaffected: "Dalera is a cool customer, she's not as nervous as I am."
She was "touched, incredibly grateful and overwhelmed," von Bredow-Werndl said on ARD, and raved about her 17-year-old mare: "I trusted her, she trusted me, it was just the perfect symbiosis again. She left her heart in there for me."
The winner had to wait a few more minutes after her brilliant ride, as the last rider was Catherine Laudrup-Dufour with Freestyle. Beaming, she had ridden out of the boiling stadium earlier, praised her Dalera and called out: "Hopefully, it's enough." It was. Because the Dane made a mistake. For von Bredow-Werndl, it was a repeat of the double victory in Tokyo.
Werth: "Exceeds my expectations"
And there were two German medals in the individual competition, as Werth also shone with Mendy. "The Games are simply fantastic," Werth commented: "To go home with gold and silver like this, it exceeds my expectations. And then this atmosphere, it's incredible and fanatical."
The German delegation in Versailles celebrated the two riders. "It's hard to find appropriate superlatives for these outstanding performances," commented Dennis Peiler, the sports director of the FN. "It's simply fantastic to experience this here in this setting."
The two German competitors enjoyed their double success together, just as they had in Tokyo. "I'm extremely happy," commented the winner: "Of course, that was our dream scenario, to stand together on the podium again. We talked about that yesterday, it's unbelievable."
Von Bredow-Werndl let her Dalera dance in the arena again. To a medley of French chanson music, the 38-year-old lined up elements of the highest difficulty with her mare. After her outstanding performance, she wiped a tear from her eye. And later said about the music: "That was a homage to Paris, to love, and to Dalera."
But Werth also showed another gala performance in the Kür. To a potpourri around the cuddly song "Mandy" by Barry Manilow, which was adapted to "Wendy" because of her mare, the 55-year-old from Rheinberg thrilled the approximately 15,000 spectators in the steel tube stadium of Versailles. After the ride, she showed her fist and beamed.
No time to celebrate
The day before, Werth and von Bredow-Werndl had already won a gold medal in the team competition with Frederic Wandres. There was hardly any time to celebrate, as preparations for the Kür began that same evening, where the two German riders became competitors - and both won another medal each.
Isabelle Werth had achieved something extraordinary with her team's razor-thin victory. She became Germany's most decorated Olympian. Werth's Olympic record now stands at eight gold and six silver medals. Canoeist Birgit Fischer is Germany's second-highest medalist, with eight gold and four silver medals. "That's really something special," Fischer said of her Olympic record. "It makes me very proud." She plans to celebrate with Werth soon: "We've both really accomplished something."
"Sweating blood and water"
The path to the record-breaking victory, Germany's 15th team gold at the Olympics, was unprecedentedly close. Werth had given up hope when Bredow-Werndl showed unexpected weaknesses in the Grand Prix Special. "We miscalculated, went to the stable thinking it wouldn't be enough," Werth recalled. "I thought it was over."
When the stadium erupted in cheers, "we had to go back," Werth said, grinning. "Now let's hear someone say dressage is boring." The experienced rider admitted, "We didn't expect it to be such a thriller. We were sweating blood and water."
"If it doesn't exist, it can't be done"
Werth's unprecedented career began at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she won team gold with Gigolo. Four years later, she won double gold with the same horse. She also won gold with Satchmo, Weihegold, and Bella Rose. Werth's extraordinary record includes nine World Championship titles. "This perseverance over all these years is incredible," teammate Frederic Wandres gushed. "If it doesn't exist, it can't be done."
Wandres also returned home to Hagen with gold. However, the 37-year-old had no chance of a podium finish in the individual event with Bluetooth. His coach reminded him before entering the ring, "Remember, you're an Olympic champion." He enjoyed the ride.
Other riders faced intense pressure as well, trying their best to outperform Jessica and secure a spot on the podium. Despite the fierce competition, Jessica remained focused and dedicated, ensuring that her performance with Dalera remained otherworldly.
