German rider Michael Jung has won gold medal in Olympics eventing. In the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, he rode Chipmunk flawlessly in the afternoon jumping event, securing his third individual Olympic victory, a first in eventing history.
Leading the overall individual competition, Jung was the last rider to enter the course with its nine obstacles on Monday afternoon. In second and third places were Australian Christopher Burton on “Shadow Man” and Briton Laura Collett on “London 52.” After strong performances in dressage and cross-country, it was clear that a clear round would earn Jung his third individual gold medal.
Focused, Jung and Chipmunk cleared the first vertical jump. They repeated this on the remaining 1.30-meter-high obstacles, as the other medal contenders had completed faultless rounds. Jung and Chipmunk continued to perform flawlessly in their well-coordinated duet.
Jung stays flawless and is “flashed”
Confidently and within the allowed 60 seconds, Jung completed his ride. The celebration over his third individual gold medal in eventing was immense, especially among the well-filled stands in the palace gardens and the German Olympic delegation, whose gold medal count Jung doubled from one to two.
The Hessian could hardly believe it and was visibly moved during his interview with Sportschau. “It’s more than joy. I have shaky knees,” said Jung, “and I’m so grateful to my horse.” Explaining why, the Olympic champion added, “I didn’t get everything perfect again, and he really saved me at the last jump.”
The result was the gold medal, first place in the overall standings, and on the scoreboard: “I had to look at the scoreboard three times to see if it was really true,” said Jung, “I’m a bit flashed right now. It was a fantastic week.” A week that ends with Jung being the first eventer to claim three individual Olympic victories.
Chipmunk’s trainer finishes eleventh
Although she didn’t win a medal, the second German participant in the eventing final, Julia Krajewski, achieved a very respectable result. Krajewski, who trained Jung’s gold horse Chipmunk, finished eleventh. Riding the young “Nickel,” she completed a clear round and maintained her position just outside the top ten.
Brits leap to team gold
Earlier on Monday, the British team, as they did three years ago in Tokyo, confidently secured the team gold. The German team had to watch helplessly. Under different circumstances, Christian Wahler’s clear round would have put Germany in medal contention. However, Wahler had fallen in the cross-country on Sunday, rendering his strong round largely meaningless.
Wahler still competed on Monday, riding the course without scoring. The German team received another 200 penalty points, but it didn’t matter anymore. “We came here as a team and wanted to finish it together,” Wahler explained to Sportschau.
Jung’s knockdown in the first jumping round
Julia Krajewski and Michael Jung could only compete for the individual rankings in the afternoon’s jumping round. Meanwhile, the British team, led by Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, and Tom McEwen, secured gold. Silver went to the much-celebrated French team, and Japan took bronze.
Despite a knockdown, Jung finished the first jumping round leading the overall standings and maintained hope for his third individual Olympic victory before the second round. “Now we need to get Chipmunk ready again and hopefully hit everything perfectly in the next course,” he said. And they did just that.
About glorious achievements of Michael Jung
Michael Jung is a German equestrian who competes in eventing and show jumping. He has an impressive track record in equestrian sports:
- Olympic Games:
- 2012 London Olympics: Jung won individual gold and team gold medals.
- 2016 Rio Olympics: He secured individual gold and team silver.
- 2024 Paris Olympics: Jung clinched individual gold for the third time.
- Other Achievements:
- Jung was inducted into the Eventing Rider Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
- He became only the second rider in history to win the Grand Slam of Eventing in 2016.
- His top horses include La Biosthetique Sam, Halunke FBW, and FischerTakinou.
Michael Jung’s remarkable career has left an indelible mark on the world of equestrian sports!
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