- Another gold for dressage team: Olympic record holder Werth
Shivering, Isabell Werth stood in the park of the Palace of Versailles, then the anxious wait had found a happy ending. Teammate Jessica von Bredow-Werndl rescued with Dalera a razor-thin lead to the finish and secured the German dressage team the gold medal at the Olympics once again. "That was crazy. I thought it wouldn't be enough. It's super, wonderful," said Werth, who became Germany's most successful medal winner with her eighth gold, to ZDF.
"I believe there has never been a closer decision. It's mega, super," Werth added. With a margin of just 0.121 points, Werth with Wendy, Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth, and von Bredow-Werndl with Dalera beat Denmark and secured Germany's fourth gold medal at the 2024 Summer Games. Bronze went to Great Britain.
Werth was also the one who put the German team on track for gold with a strong ride, after Wandres had only finished third in the first round. Despite an imperfect performance, von Bredow-Werndl, the double Olympic champion from Tokyo, rode to victory. "It was a thriller. Now let someone say that dressage riding is not exciting. It was much more exciting than I wanted," said the German last rider.
15th team gold for Germany in the history of the Olympics
With this, Germany has once again dominated the team competition in dressage. It was the 15th team gold, with Werth being part of it seven times. Werth's Olympic record now stands at eight gold and five silver medals. Only canoeist Birgit Fischer has won as many Olympic gold medals, but one fewer silver.
"That was really a bit too much emotion today. It's super. I'll go for a drink with Birgit soon. We've both really achieved something," said Werth.
Werth's unique career began at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she won team gold with Gigolo. Four years later, she celebrated double gold with the same horse. She also won gold medals with the horses Satchmo, Weihegold, and Bella Rose. Werth's extraordinary record also includes nine World Championship titles.
Werth raves about Wendy
"I'm incredibly proud of Wendy. She's fantastic, to pass such a test at ten years old. I've already said: If I don't make a mistake, she doesn't want to make one. The small mistake on the centerline is mine, I was a bit behind. I wanted to keep a bit too much control, in the end, it was a small thing," Werth raved about her horse to ZDF after her ride.
The riders had already secured the second of Germany's four gold medals in Versailles. Michael Jung had already won the individual competition in eventing.
Isabell Werth expressed her joy after securing Germany's fourth gold medal in dressage at the 2024 Summer Olympics, stating, "It's amazing to be part of this historic achievement once again at The Olympic Games." Later, she reflected on her unique career, saying, "My journey began at The Olympic Games in Barcelona, and it's an honor to still be competing and winning at The Olympic Games with Wendy now."
