Brits atop the podium again. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Great Britain is golden once more as the team of Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, Tom McEwen and JL Dublin, and Laura Collett and London 52 clinched the team gold medal in Paris on a final score of 91.3. The home nation, France, secured silver medal on a score of 103.6, followed by Japan, overcoming the withdrawal of one of their team horses in this morning’s Final Horse Inspection to win bronze on a finishing score of 115.8.
This becomes Great Britain’s fifth Olympic team gold medal, putting the drought of 11 cycles before their gold medal in Tokyo (2021) firmly to bed and providing further testament to consistency, depth, and competitive drive.
As we led up to the selection of the team, it was all anyone in eventing sport could talk about: would the selectors get it right, what with so many proven pairs to choose from? As the selectors opted to put reigning World Champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir on the bench as the Traveling Reserve and also chose to leave off consistent competitors such as Oliver Townend and Kitty King, the pressure mounted. If the selectors — who possess perhaps the most unenviable position in our sport, particularly for this nation — got the choice right, they would be celebrated. If they didn’t, there would be hell to pay.
This was further underscored yesterday on cross country when Ros Canter was given 15 penalties for missing a flag at fence 21ABCD. Videos circulating on social media provided a mixed bag of reactions, mostly coming under the opinion that she had been clear. However, an appeal lodged with the FEI was dismissed, and the 15 penalties stood. This meant the Brits came into today under much more pressure than they would have otherwise had, with just one rail and some time (4.7 penalties total) in hand over the hard-charging French (and the feet-stomping French fans who certainly made their presence known this morning).
Team GB wins again! Photo by Tilly Berendt.
And to be sure, the rounds delivered by the British team weren’t perfect. As the first to go, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo lowered one rail. Tom McEwen and JL Dublin jumped second and helped right the ship with a double clear round. Anchor rider Laura Collett also lowered a rail and picked up two seconds of time.
Luck was somewhat in play here for the British, though, as the French didn’t manage a clear or double clear round, lowering four rails amongst them and picking up one additional time penalty for their team score of 103.6. So while the British leave the day well out in front, it surely didn’t feel that safe as the rounds were ticking away.
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The French were understandably disappointed in their lack of clear rounds, but to hear the crowds and see the riders’ reactions on clearing the last, you’d likely not have known it. They’ve now medaled in the last three Olympic cycles, including Paris, building onto their bronze medal finish in Tokyo and working toward that coveted gold medal such as the one they won in Rio.
This silver medal becomes their fifth Olympic medal, and is also demonstrative of the momentum the nation has built; prior to a gold medal won in Athens (2004), the nation had not won an Olympic medal since they took bronze in Rome (1960). Competing on home turf can be challenging — Tokyo failed to bring home a medal in their home games in Tokyo, and Great Britain missed out on a gold medal in London (2012). Today, the French proved they’re here, they’re here to win medals, and they’re here to stay.
Stephane Landois and Chaman Dumontceau. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
And Japan. Japan. How much can I say about Japan in the 30 minutes I have left before the individual final starts?
Japan left Tokyo somewhat with their tails between their legs; after coming in highly-touted as medal contenders, they finished a distant 11th, though one rider, Kazuma Tomoto, did finish in fourth individually. It was a tough Games for all competitors. We were in the midst of a global pandemic, and the Japanese riders, who spend their lives basing in the UK, far from their friends and family at home, couldn’t even see their families while they were in Tokyo due to strict quarantine and social distancing rules.
Then today, Ryuzo Kitajima had to withdraw the 17-year-old mare Cekatinka from the holding box in the final jog. It was a heartbreaker for Ryuzo, who was the Traveling Reserve in Tokyo and felt emotional yesterday after finishing cross country at the chance to finally represent his country. Fortunately, Cekatinka has been reported to be absolutely fine, just a little sore in her hind end and therefore deemed ineligible to jump by the Ground Jury.
Ryuzo Kitajima leads the Japanese portion of the victory lap, quite enthusiastically, on foot. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
This meant the Japanese had to take 20 penalties for activating their substitute, Toshiyuki Tanaka and Jefferson, who was admittedly quite nervous for this role — and what a tough one it is, to manage an event horse that hasn’t run cross country or done a dressage test for the technical challenge that is the final phase — as this wouldn’t be his preferred phase.
While Japan wasn’t out of the hunt, the mountain to climb certainly grew a little taller, as the substitution penalties dropped them from bronze to fifth place going into this phase. All three riders would need to deliver clear rounds — and hope someone in a higher-placed team gave them an opening to try to regain their spot on the podium.
They held up their end of the bargain.
Collecting just a handful of time penalties amongst them, the Japanese delivered three jump fault-free rounds, and one double clear from Kazuma Tomoto and Vince de la Vigne. They were the only team to leave all the poles in the cups.
“I’m really happy. Still, I’m focused on my second round,” Kazu said after the team round, and before the final rider had jumped. “I’m also keeping fingers crossed for the final rider in team show jumping. [Vinci de la Vigne] is a good jumper. I was a show jumper in Japan — and also I tried to get to Paris in two disciplines as well. I love show jumping.”
This is the first-ever Olympic medal in eventing for Japan and also the first-ever Olympic medal for any Asian country. For a nation that is not as large or flush with talent as the larger powers with multiple medals adorning their cabinets, and for riders who have to sacrifice so much to even have a shot, this medal means an unspeakable amount.
Teams France, Great Britain, Japan on the podium. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
We’ll have a LOT more coming your way in our evening report, including results from the individual rounds and thoughts on the other team results, including a superb fourth-place finish for an exciting Belgian team and a seventh-place finish for the USA, but for now I must dash off to the individual final as we didn’t have a large amount of time in between!
To catch up on full team scores and individual rankings head of the final round (the current individual podium is Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH, Chris Burton and Shadow Man, and Laura Collett and London 52), click here. You can also view our team Companion Guide here and keep an eye out for our individual Companion Guide publishing very soon.
The start list for the individual final can be found here.
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