- This is how euphoric ARD reporter Sostmeier commented on the Olympic victory of Reiter Jung
At the end, the voice falters, breaks, stutters, squeaks. It sounds like a mix between the animated series South Park and Donald Duck. In between, it seems to momentarily fail: "Friends, this is incredible, this is un...", apparently ARD equestrian commentator Carsten Sostmeier, in his excitement, had hit the microphone and briefly silenced himself before continuing to cheer euphorically. "Friends! Bravo, bravo, bravo! Wow, what a tour d'honneur of emotions that gallops right into our hearts". Sostmeier can't contain himself as the gold coup of eventing rider Michael Jung is confirmed.
It was a brief but big TV moment that viewers witnessed and heard during the live broadcast on ARD on Monday afternoon. Sostmeier's words were of the kind that people will still be talking about years later. Even those who can't relate to equestrian sports became fans in those seconds, as if they could smell fresh hay in the stables.
Jung secured the gold medal in the individual eventing with a faultless show jumping round, a feat no eventing rider has achieved before. The last ride was also exciting because Jung had incurred four penalty points on his horse Chipmunk the day before in the first jumping round. His lead over Australian Christopher Burton had shrunk, and the gold medal was no longer entirely secure. Jung had to remain faultless in the last jumping round to defend his lead.
A Masterclass in Emotional Sports Commentary
But Jung, currently the world's best eventing rider, kept his nerves. After 60 seconds of tension on the course in front of the backdrop of the Palace of Versailles, the big moment arrived - and Sostmeier delivered a masterclass in emotional sports commentary. If eventing were as popular as football, Sostmeier's performance would now be mentioned in the same breath as Herbert Zimmermann's legendary commentary on the 1954 World Cup.
"Oh friends, now our pulse needs a day, maybe even two, to come back down after something like this," said an emotional Sostmeier, who has been commentating on equestrian sports since the early 90s. For many, the 64-year-old was already a cult commentator. Professionals and social media have long celebrated him as a "horse whisperer".
Carsten Sostmeier Makes Everyone a Sports Expert
But one should rather speak of a "equestrian sports whisperer". Sostmeier's expertise is legendary. He has always been one of those commentators who you just love to listen to because they passionately and competently convey a sport and what makes it special. Listening to Sostmeier makes you feel like an expert, even if you've never sat on a horse in your life. Suddenly, show jumping and dressage feel close. That's the great art.
In his enthusiasm, Sostmeier called Jung, the gold medal winner, the "King of Equestrianism from Versailles" and added: "You're writing Olympic equestrian sports history. Congratulations, I tip my hat, or rather my headphones, to this performance". The compliment also applies to Sostmeier, who delivered a great Olympic moment in Versailles.
The Olympic victory of eventing rider Michael Jung was the highlight of Sostmeier's commentary that day, a performance that could potentially be regarded as iconic in equestrian sports commentary. Following his emotional outburst, Sostmeier humbly acknowledged, "My pulse needs a day, maybe even two, to come back down after something like this."
