Team competition is wrapped up for the 2012 Olympic Games, and for the first time since 1956, the United States failed to medal in any of the team competitions.
I’m sure there will be plenty of talk about it in the next four years; what went wrong, what we could have done differently, but in the immediate aftermath, how do we feel?
Are we satisfied that we sent the correct riders, who had the ideal competitive tune-ups, got the very best training, and tried their hearts out to medal? Does the Olympics still ignite that competitive fire in us? If not, we need to re-evaluate how we compete at the major games. Because as of now, we are being out-performed by most of the world.
The passion and spirit I saw from every British rider was astounding. They rode like winning anything less than gold would get them shipped off the island. They rode like they had been preparing for that moment every day for the last four years.
So, are results a question of who wants it most? If so, the United States didn’t seem to want it. In 2008, in Hong Kong, Great Britain won ONE team medal, a bronze in Eventing, and one individual medal. In 2012, so far they have won 3 team medals, including two golds in Show Jumping and Dressage.
However, this isn’t just about the Brits. We know that homefield advantage plays a part, sometimes a significant one, but that can’t explain all of their dominance in the equestrian sports. The rest of the world has stepped up their game as well. Germany, who was missing Isabelle Werth and Matthias Rath, won silver in dressage, and of course double gold in Eventing. The Netherlands have two team medals in Show Jumping and Dressage. Sweden had a strong display in eventing, and finished with a bronze.
Where does the U.S. go from here? How do we prove that our standards are still high, that we’re still capable of producing top class horses and riders? Do we let the little girls of the world hang up posters of Mary King and Michael Jung, instead of Karen O’Connor and Boyd Martin? And yes, I realize that no one would rather have a poster of Michael Jung over a poster of Boyd Martin, I’m making a point here!
Do team medals even still count? Are we all children of the world here, satisfied when any strong performance gets its deserved reward? If so, everyone should be happy with the medals won so far in the Olympics.
