German jumper trio surprises itself
The German show jumpers have secured the favorite role for Friday's final with an impressive qualifying round. They are the only ones to remain fault-free on their horses. They are "super happy" but also apply the brakes on euphoria.
Christian Kukuk beamed with satisfaction. "I believe we did that superbly," he said after he and his equally perfect teammates secured Germany's medal hopes in the blistering heat of Versailles with three fault-free rounds. First place in the qualification ahead of the USA and Great Britain, but national coach Otto Becker immediately warned: "We haven't won anything yet, it starts all over again on Friday."
With their captivating performances, the team with Kukuk and Checker, Vice-European Champion Philipp Weishaupt and Zineday, and young star Richard Vogel and the outstanding United Touch, made the hearts of German fans, who have not been spoiled in recent years, beat a little faster. A medal, which the team optimistically declared as a goal before the Olympics, is suddenly very realistic. "It was very good, as we had hoped and dreamt of," said Becker: "We are super happy." Kukuk and Checker started flawlessly, Weishaupt and his EM hero Zineday did the same. Vogel and United Touch set the perfect final touch.
"No doubt a disadvantage"
Above all, Vogel put himself in a strong position for the individual medal final on Tuesday. "We were already optimistic," said the 27-year-old, "but that we would be the only ones to remain fault-free, I don't think anyone thought that." With that, they have a good starting position for Friday, "but that's all we've achieved today in terms of numbers."
Germany started eleventh in the middle of the field, which was beneficial for Kukuk and Co. In the technically very demanding course, world-class riders like London Olympic champion Steve Guerdat (Switzerland), who had to go fourth on the course, initially knocked several bars. "That's always a disadvantage, no doubt," said Kukuk, who came through with zero faults as the third rider.
Behind the German team, the USA finished with six penalty points and Great Britain (8). The highly favored Swedes with world champion Henrik von Eckermann and his top horse King Edward found themselves in eighth place. After a knockdown and a refusal of his Catch me not, veteran Peder Fredricson returned to the course with 17 penalty points.
In the team final on Friday (from 10:00 a.m.), it starts at zero. In case of a tie in penalty points at the end, there will be a jump-off for the medals. The last German medal in show jumping was won by the team around Ludger Beerbaum in 2016 in Rio. The last German Olympic victory dates back to 2000 in Sydney, at that time with Otto Becker and his legendary grey Cento in the team.
The Olympic Games 2024 in Paris is undoubtedly a topic of excitement for German show jumpers following their impressive performance at the current Olympics. Despite their current lead, national coach Otto Becker reminds Germany, "We haven't won anything yet, it starts all over again on Friday."
