With as much success as Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH (Contendro I x  Havanna –  Heraldik) have enjoyed during their partnership, one would be forgiven for assuming they’d also collected an Olympic medal. They’ve won the Kentucky CCI5* and a team gold in FEI World Championship competition (Pratoni del Vivaro – 2022). But an Olympic medal has eluded them—until now.

The week started off strong for the two-time Olympic gold medalist, but Jung found himself behind British rider Laura Collett and London 52 (Landos – Vernante, by Quinar) after dressage, despite scoring a near-record 17.8 with the 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding. He wasn’t worried, though, relying on his experience and preparation to finish clear and well inside the optimum time on cross country on Sunday to reclaim the individual lead.

Jung Secures Gold in Eventing

Despite a lowered rail in the team final and individual qualifier, Jung retained his lead over Collett, who also had a rail as well as two seconds of time in the first round to go onto a score of 23.1, which was 1.3 penalties behind Jung. If Jung could jump clear in the second round, the gold was his.

“I tried to stay really focused and concentrate through the whole week,” Jung said. “ I tell myself, ‘it’s just a normal show’. It’s not always easy, with so many spectators and on such an important show. But I think it’s quite important that the horses feel it’s nothing special. I needed a few times to look on the board to see if was really true. It was a very special moment for me. I think I need a moment to realize all of it.”

Jung’s success in Paris makes him the first-ever three-time individual Olympic gold medalist, adding to the golds won in London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016) with the great La Biosthetique Sam.

Burton and Shadowman Claim Individual Silver

Finishing second on the individual podium and marking a triumphant—albeit somewhat temporary—return to eventing after spending the last season competing solely in show jumping was Australia’s Christopher Burton and Shadow Man (Fidjy of Colors – Favorite van de Keezerswinning, by WInningmood van de Arenberg). They finished their weekend on a score of 22.4, adding just one second of time in the first round of show jumping to their overall penalty mark.

Unfortunately for eventing fans, Burton said he doesn’t have immediate plans to stay in the eventing space. Shadow Man had a contract for Burton to ride him through Paris, and will likely return to his former rider, British five-star athlete Ben Hobday, to continue eventing.

“My wife and I will move back to Australia after this, we’ve bought a yard and will work on building that up,” Burton, who has to this point been based in the UK full-time, said, before grinning to his left at his fellow individual medalists. “Maybe Michael or Laura will call me up one day and say, ‘I’ve got a nice horse for you!’”

British Powerhouse

Securing bronze to add to her team gold medal for Great Britain is Laura Collett, who lowered one rail in the first round but jumped clear in the final round to finish on a score of 23.1. This effort helped Britain win its second consecutive eventing team gold, further demonstrating the depth and talent that currently exists within the surging British program.

Collett, who alongside Tom McEwen was on the Tokyo gold medal-winning team, reiterated the British team’s depth, which well could have sent a nearly completely different team to Paris and likely obtained a similar result.

“The best man won,” Collett continued. “Michael Jung is the big master. He’s raised the sport to 10 different levels and missed out on so many championships on that horse. I wanted him to win just as much as I wanted myself to win.”

Challenge of Jumping Two Rounds

The difficulty of jumping two rounds in a sport that typically only requires one show jumping round cannot be understated. While the jumps were raised to 1.30 meter for the second round, there were fewer efforts, and the course was set in a manner that was empathetic to the fatigue most of the horses were feeling. Though most of the horses who jumped in the individual final jumped quite well and did not exhibit signs of fatigue.

Co-designers Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo returned to the Paris Games after also designing in Tokyo. They set a challenging 1.25 meter track for the first round, followed by a slightly shortened and modified 1.30 meter track to determine the individual medals. In Tokyo, the final track exerted a bit more influence, with half of the final top 10 individuals having at least one rail.

“I think first of all, the caliber of horses here, you just have to look down the start list of those horses who made it to the top 25 and realize they were phenomenal horses,” Collet said when asked about the influence of the final track and the differences between this and the one in Tokyo. “I also think having less time between the two rounds made quite a big difference. In Tokyo, we jumped very late at night for the individual and I think the horses thought they should be in bed.”

Great Britain Claims Historic Gold

With this gold medal, Great Britain becomes the most successful eventing nation in the world, with a total of five gold medals. The achievement overtakes Australia and Germany, who each have earned four gold medals. This consecutive gold also comes after a 49-year drought that ended in Tokyo.

“It’s unbelievable, the support system we have behind us,” Collet said. “From the team at home, there’s so much hard work that goes into getting us riders and the horses here. But also the support team out here making sure that we need for nothing. We don’t have to think about anything except doing the job, which means we can put full focus on.”

“We’re very lucky to be British,” Collett continued. “At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t thinking so hard to get on the British team. But now I’m very glad I’m British.”

Also on the British team were Tokyo individual silver medalist Tom McEwen and JL Dublin (Diarado – Zarinna, by Canto), as well as reigning European Eventing Champion Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo (Grafenstolz – Cornish Queen, by Rock King).

Home Nation Continues Medal Streak

Claiming silver for the home nation, France continued its Olympic medal streak. They won gold in 2016 and bronze in 2021. The host country finished on a total score of 103.6, capping off a weekend that was underscored by the enthusiasm of the sold-out crowds.

“In France, we have a lot of incredible horses,” team member Karim Laghouag said. “I didn’t have a look at the statistics. But in Tokyo, out of 8 or 9 horses, we had seven that were French. We have a team with an incredible level. So for this kind of event like the Olympics, we have really good results. Even though we are never winners before the end. And obviously we look forward to L.A., in order to win gold over Great Britain!”

Japan’s Strong Surprise Finish

Japan also marked a historic finish. The team overcame potential disaster to take the bronze medal—albeit the first of its kind for Japan, who has never won an eventing medal in the Olympics. The Japanese started on Monday with some tension when Ryuzo Kitajima opted to withdraw Cekatinka after the Ground Jury sent the horse to the holding box during the Final Horse Inspection that morning. Japan held the bronze medal position after cross country. But they took on 20 additional penalties in order to activate substitute pair Toshiyuka Tanaka and Jefferson JRA. This dropped the team into fifth position. They needed to deliver strong results in order to have any hope of reclaiming that bronze medal.

As it happens, Japan was the sole team to jump three fault-free rounds. They added just two time penalties to their team score and ending on a total of 115.8. Subsequent rails from higher ranked teams opened the door to “bring the medal home,” as Kazuma Tomoto described.

“For a very long time, the same team members were able to train together. And that was a huge factor that contributed to our success,” Yoshiaki Oiwa said. The Japanese riders base in the U.K., only traveling to Japan in the off-season to see their friends and family.

Mixed Bag of Results to Conclude U.S. Eventing Weekend

Team USA was disappointed not to secure a stronger result this weekend. The U.S. won a team silver at the most recent FEI World Championships and has enjoyed a burgeoning program led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Costello. A small array of mistakes, including 20 penalties on cross country for Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake as well as two rails (one from Pamukcu and one from Liz Halliday and Nutcracker) in the show jumping prevented the team from finishing higher. In the end, the U.S. finished in seventh overall on a score of 133.7.

Boyd Martin and Fedarman B were the highest-placed U.S. pair, finishing 10th individually with a score of 32.1.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about the weekend. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m being overly Polly-anna. But I truly believe there were more positives this weekend,” Costello said. “And there are still signs that we are competing with the rest of the world. We didn’t compete in this format at a level that was going to get us a medal this weekend. I think we have to get better at this Olympic format because it is unique. I don’t think we can be obsessed with it in every competition. But we really need to think about things we can pinpoint and concentrate on. This will help us improve and be more successful in a competition like this.”

For more of our coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, click here.