Olympics-Equestrian-Britain win team eventing gold after decades in 2nd place

August 2, 2021

By Shadia Nasralla

TOKYO (Reuters) -Britain’s Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen on Monday won team gold in equestrian eventing at the Tokyo Olympics, bringing the top medal back to Britain for the first time since 1972 and after decades of the country coming second.

Australia claimed the silver medal, improving on their third place in Rio 2016, and defending champions France took bronze.

British riders had won eventing team silver at the Olympics in Los Angeles, Seoul, Sydney, Athens and London, and bronze in Beijing.

Collett almost died in a fall in 2013 when she fractured her spine, shoulder and ribs and spent six days in a coma, surviving because the now 31-year-old was wearing an airbag jacket which inflated.

“I think back to where I was eight years ago, I knew I was lucky to be alive, let alone able to do the job that I love and be lucky enough to have a horse like London 52 to bring me to a place like Tokyo,” she said.

“To top it off with a gold medal, I’m just super grateful to be on a team with these two guys.”

Individual eventing medals will be decided after further jumps later on Monday, with Germany’s Julia Krajewski starting in the lead, ahead of world number one Townend and number five McEwen.

Germany’s Michael Jung, winner of the individual gold in Rio and London, picked up penalty points on the cross-country course on Sunday and is a long way off the medal places as he will start the individual jumps in eighth place.

Monday marked the culmination of eventing, also known as horse triathlon, with its three tests of dressage, cross-country and show jumping. Men and women in equestrian sports compete on equal terms in the same tests, often beyond the age of 50.

Australia’s Andrew Hoy, 62, who took part in his first Olympics in 1984 and won team gold in 1992, was asked whether it was experience that had taken his team to the podium.

“I think it’s age,” he said with a smile.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)

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