After years of ups and downs, the longed-for success was finally achieved: Eventing rider Julia Krajewski saved the honor of the German eventing rider and won the gold medal with Amande.
Julia Krajewski kept her nerve and screamed her joy about Olympic gold in the night sky of Tokyo. As the last starter of the eventing competition, the 32-year-old from Warendorf had to ride on the course on Monday, was not allowed to afford a drop with her mare Amande – and she withstood this pressure, remained flawless and raised her fist for joy.
For the rider herself, this gold is “the stuff of which films are made”. Because Krajewski recently had “with personal, sad moments, everything that can be experienced in ups and downs” for a few years. In Tokyo it was not going down, but on the top step. She won ahead of British Tom McEwen with Toledo and Australian Andrew Hoy with Vassily.
Julia Krajewski: fourth German single gold in a row
Krajewski crowned a race to catch up after fourth place in dressage and a flawless cross-country ride with two faultless rounds in jumping. She secured Germany the fourth individual gold in a row after Hinrich Romeike in 2008 and Michael Jung in 2012 and 2016. The rider from Lingen, who has also been the national junior trainer since 2017, had a good starting position in the final round because of the previously leading Briton Oliver Townend had a throw with Ballaghmor Class.
National coach Hans Melzer described the rider as “cool” and certified her with a “tunnel vision”. And with the mare, whose full name is Amande de B’Neville, she has a horse that “jumps very well”. Melzer said: “We knew that she could do it.” The coach described it as “surprising” that she was already in second place after the cross-country ride before Tokyo.
“At some point the day will come …”
Krajewski has had to cope with a number of setbacks in recent years. But Melzer had always encouraged her, as he revealed: “I told her that too, at some point the day will come when you will be on the podium after all the back and forth over the past few years.” He praised: “She did a great job on it.”
The rider actually had to cope with setbacks. In 2016 she slipped into the Rio team as a substitute rider at the last minute, but the debutante retired after three refusals in the field with Samourai – she still received silver for the team classification.
Chipmunk contractually lost as a top horse
The 2017 European Championships were also unhappy when the substance firocoxib was found in their horse Samourai, which is allowed for therapeutic purposes in training but not in competition. “Of course, neither I nor anyone in my environment administered this substance,” said the rider at the time, who was nevertheless subsequently disqualified.
The loss of Chipmunk also weighed heavily. The horse contract between the rider and Hilmer Meyer-Kulenkampff was not extended. The horse then went to Jung in 2019, who now rode it at the Tokyo Games.
“Damage limitation” in team competition
Krajewski had previously missed a medal with the team on Monday afternoon. In the final competition, however, the team improved from sixth to fourth place. Krajewski, Sandra Auffarth from Ganderkesee with Viamant and Michael Jung from Horb with Chipmunk had given a better placement in dressage and especially in cross-country riding.
The national coach spoke of “damage limitation” after the end of the team competition. Melzer said: “We finished fourth, so we can be satisfied with that too. We moved a little forward.” Gold went to the trio from Great Britain, followed by Australia and France.
Gold favorite Jung goes away empty-handed
For Melzer, the farewell to the Olympics remained without a team medal. The 70-year-old from Salzhausen ended his job as national coach after the season and had earned a reputation as a “goldsmith” at previous major events. With Melzer as coach, they won double gold at the 2008 Games in Hong Kong and 2012 in London, as well as at the 2014 World Cup. Most recently in Rio, the Melzer team won Olympic silver and Jung also won individual gold.
Jung came out completely empty this time and came in eighth in the end. In jumping, the three-time Olympic champion initially showed a faultless performance, but received a drop in the second round in the individual. “It’s very annoying,” he commented.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
