Great Britain secured their first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games by retaining their Olympic team eventing title, with Laura Collett also claiming individual bronze.
Tokyo 2020 champions Collett, Tom McEwen, and world number one Ros Canter clinched victory in Monday’s final show jumping stage at Chateau de Versailles. Team GB ended the three-day competition with 91.30 penalties, finishing a commanding 12.3 points ahead of host nation France, while Japan took bronze.
Collett delivered a flawless performance to secure her second medal of the day in the jumping final, finishing behind German gold medallist Michael Jung and Australia’s Christopher Burton, while McEwen finished fourth.
The triumph in Tokyo marked GB’s first team eventing win in 49 years. Collett, riding London 52 in Paris, and McEwen were joined by Oliver Townend in Tokyo, with Canter as a travelling reserve. This year, the team successfully defended their title for the first time since 1972.
The British celebrations continued as Collett, who nearly died in a fall in 2013, produced a faultless performance to become the first British woman to win an individual eventing medal since Kristina Cook in 2008.
“I never thought this day would come,” Collett told BBC Sport. “I owe absolutely everything to that horse. The team have made it possible. I just want to say thank you to every one of them. It’s so many years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears. Emotional rollercoaster doesn’t do it justice. Moments like this make it worth it. You can never dream too big.”
British Trio Dominate Finale to Deliver GB’s First Gold
Collett, McEwen, and Canter topped the standings heading into Monday’s jumping finale but saw their lead reduced in the cross-country discipline following a record-breaking dressage performance.
Canter's individual medal hopes ended after incurring 15 jumping penalties in Sunday’s cross-country, dropping from sixth to 24th and eventually placing 21st overall after a clean final jumping round. A controversial ruling against Canter, which British equestrian officials hoped would be overturned, was upheld, allowing France to cut Great Britain's overnight lead to 4.7 points from 7.4.
Collett's individual Olympic record in dressage contributed to a team Olympic record on the competition's opening day. However, the cross-country result put GB under pressure from the hosts.
Despite Canter's penalty misfortune, the 38-year-old, who last year became only the fifth rider to win three majors in a single season, kept GB on course for victory. She received four penalty points in her outing under glorious conditions at a spectacular Olympic venue.
Tokyo individual silver medallist McEwen then executed a clean run to tighten GB's grip on gold, prompting great celebrations from his teammates. Collett, the final rider of the competition, delivered the golden touch despite 4.8 penalty points, punching the air in delight after completing an outstanding team performance.
Collett Seals Double Medal Delight
Collett, 34, spent six days in a coma after sustaining severe injuries, including a punctured lung and fractures to her spine, shoulder, and ribs, and losing much of her vision in one eye 11 years ago. She described London 52 as "the horse of a lifetime," and the pairing completed a memorable medal double in Paris, three years after placing ninth together in the individual competition.
Collett began the individual final in the bronze medal position, 1.3 penalty points behind Germany's Michael Jung and 0.7 behind Australia's Christopher Burton. Despite a perfect round, neither Jung nor Burton faltered, securing gold and silver, respectively. McEwen, on JL Dublin, finished fourth, 2.7 penalty points behind Collett.
"I thought Tokyo was special, but this is incomparable," Collett said. "It has blown that out of the water, going out in front of a crowd like this and feeling like every single person is willing you on. This is just a day I will never, ever forget." Photo by Nadir Barainka, Wikimedia commons.