- Young, the all-round rider, celebrates gold in the castle park
Michael Jung raised his fist in triumph against the breathtaking backdrop of the Palace of Versailles' park, having clinched his fourth Olympic gold. The eventing rider kept his cool in the decisive round, made no more mistakes, and once again crowned himself Olympic champion.
"This is more than joy. I have shaky knees. I'm so grateful to my horse Chipmunk. He saved me again," Jung said after his victorious ride in the ARD: "I had to look at the board three times to make sure it was real. I'm a bit overwhelmed. It was a wonderful week." Jung narrowly won with 21.8 penalty points, ahead of Australian Christopher Burton with Shadow Man (22.4) and British rider Laura Collett with London (23.1).
Faultless in the decisive round
In the first round, the 41-year-old from Horb had a fence down, unintentionally adding extra tension. But when it mattered, rider and horse delivered. "How Chipi concentrated, it's simply fantastic," said Jung. Sports director Dennis Peiler commented: "That was an absolute thriller. It was like a rollercoaster ride with a wonderfully happy ending. I'm so glad Michi successfully completed his gold mission with Chipmunk."
The final of the three trials near the royal castle was a nerve-wracking thriller. Jung entered the steel pipe stadium as the last starter and couldn't afford another fence down. And he didn't. Around 15,000 spectators cheered for the German rider as he completed his victory lap. "After the disappointment with the team, I'm thrilled about the gold. Michi made his dream come true, and I'm overjoyed," added national coach Peter Thomsen.
In the first round, the situation was similar, but Jung made a mistake, incurring four penalty points with a fence down. He then benefited from errors by British rider Laura Collett with London, giving him a second chance. "A mistake in the wrong tournament, yes," Jung commented on his fence down.
Once again, he was masterful. "He moves and jumps every fence at the warm-up area with power," Jung praised his horse. Masterfully, he guided his horse through the second course to secure another gold. In London 2012, he triumphed in both the individual and team events, and four years later in Rio, he won gold in the individual event and silver with the team.
The medal in Versailles was largely thanks to his strong cross-country ride on Sunday, which put him in the lead going into the jumping phase. His teammates were impressed. "We have the world's best rider in our team," raved Christoph Wahler. "I find it amazing how he has such a calm and self-evident way of being with his teammates and his horse." In Paris, "he does what he always does. He is, in my eyes, the perfect horseman." Chipmunk was trained by Julia Krajewski, who showed a strong performance in Versailles with her young horse Nickel. The 35-year-old, who won gold in Tokyo with Amande, remained faultless in both rounds and finished 11th.
Riding despite a fall
Despite his fall the day before in the cross-country, Wahler also rode the first round of the jumping. The German team received 200 additional penalty points for this and finished 14th in the final ranking. Gold went to Great Britain, followed by France and the surprise team from Japan.
Wahlers' start was only possible due to a peculiarity in the Olympic regulations. Unlike other equestrian events where a fall results in disqualification from the entire competition, at the Olympics, it's possible to ride again the next day following a positive veterinary examination. Wahlers' horse Carjatan passed this vet check early Monday morning.
However, Wahlers was disqualified from the individual competition. "98% of the whole story was good, but in the end, it's a catastrophic result," the 30-year-old from Bad Bevensen commented after his zero-score round in show jumping. "Of course, it's frustrating when you've seen how Carjatan jumped today. Everything was possible."
In the world of equestrian sports, Jung's victory in the Olympic Games once again solidified his position as a formidable eventing rider, winning gold at The Olympic Games in Versailles. As the competition neared its end, many athletes and spectators eagerly awaited the final performance of this Olympic champion.
