Isabell Werth is making history: With the team gold of the German dressage team, the 55-year-old has become the German record Olympian. But the victory certainly also had emotional value for her.
Isabell Werth stood trembling in the park of the Versailles Palace, and then the anxious wait came to a happy end. Teammate Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her horse Dalera managed to save a razor-thin lead to the finish and secured the gold medal for the German dressage team at the Olympics again. “That was crazy. I thought it wouldn’t be enough. It’s great, wonderful,” Werth, who became Germany’s record medalist with her eighth gold, told ZDF.
“I don’t think there has ever been a closer decision,” added Werth. With a tiny margin of 0.121 points, Werth with Wendy, Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth, and von Bredow-Werndl with Dalera beat Denmark and secured Germany’s fourth gold at the 2024 Summer Games. Bronze went to Great Britain.
It was also Werth who put the German team on course for gold with a strong ride after Wandres had only finished third in the first round. Von Bredow-Werndl, double Olympic champion from Tokyo, ultimately rode to victory despite a less than perfect performance. “It was a thriller. Now let someone say that dressage riding is not exciting. It was much more exciting than I wanted,” said the German final rider.
The 15th team gold for Germany
This means that Germany has once again dominated the team competition in dressage. It was the 15th team gold, and Werth alone took part in seven of them. Werth’s Olympic record now includes eight gold and five silver Olympic medals. Canoeist Birgit Fischer also won eight Olympic gold medals in her career – but one silver medal less.
“That was really a bit of an emotion today. It’s great. I’m going to go for a drink with Birgit soon. We both really achieved something,” said Werth happily.
Death shortly before the games: Isabell Werth had to arrive late
But for the 55-year-old, it was certainly a very special medal, emotionally speaking. She had to arrive late for the games. The reason: her father had died shortly before the tournament. She traveled back to Germany to attend the funeral, and even missed the first training session as a result. Now she was able to crown this emotional rollercoaster ride as a record-breaking Olympian.
Werth’s unique career began at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where she won team gold with Gigolo. Four years later, she celebrated double gold with the same horse. She won further gold medals with the horses Satchmo, Weihegold and Bella Rose. Werth’s extraordinary track record also includes nine world championship titles.
Werth raves about Wendy
“I am incredibly proud of Wendy. She is fantastic to complete such a test at the age of ten. I have already said: If I don’t make a mistake, she doesn’t want to make a mistake. The small mistake on the center line is mine, I was a little backwards. I wanted to maintain a little too much control, at the end of the day it was a small thing,” Werth said after her ride, raving about her horse.
The riders secured the second of four German gold medals in Versailles. Michael Jung won the individual eventing competition there.
Source: Stern
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