The German dressage riders are the measure of all things in their sport. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Isabell Werth celebrated a double victory in Tokyo. Together they had already won gold in the team competition.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl was able to celebrate her second Olympic gold when the last ride in the Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo was not yet over. The 35-year-old dressage rider from Tuntenhausen, Bavaria, also prevailed in the individual freestyle competition with her mare Dalera one day after her victory with the team, leaving her former teacher Isabell Werth behind, who had to be content with silver. “I am very happy,” commented the winner on Wednesday.
The tears of joy ran before the last two starters rode. She was so superior. “Sometimes I felt like I was doing a bit of a fire dance, on the knife edge,” said the 35-year-old. “But it all worked out.”
Isabell Werth misses an Olympic record
Werth not only missed victory, but also an Olympic record. With another gold medal, the 52-year-old from Rheinberg would have drawn level in the German medal ranking with canoeist Birgit Fischer, who has eight gold and four silver medals in her Olympic record and is still in first place ahead of Werth. Team Olympic champion Dorothee Schneider from Framersheim was 15.
The winner had ridden out of the square before, beaming. She patted her horse, thanked Dalera for the performance. As the second rider in the group of the best six pairs, she put the competition around Werth under pressure with a splendid appearance. “In the beginning I used tactics a bit,” said the 35-year-old, explaining her performance: “In the end I took risks. There were no major blunders, but many highlights.”
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl: “Am I really first?”
Von Bredow-Werndl had once again presented a magical performance with her mare and, to the music of the film La-La-Land, also showed the best performance in the third test in Tokyo. The couple danced to the next gold one day after their victory with the team without a mistake. The two were so dominant that it was already clear during Dorothee Schneider’s final ride that the gold was safe.
The rider, trained by Werth for a few years after her junior years, also delighted with music in the freestyle after Grand Prix and Special. The tension was much greater for them than in the team competition. She admitted, “Today it was really about: Am I really first?”
Werth: Several horses with potential for Paris 2024
For the record rider, the medals in Tokyo are far from over. “It’ll be a few more days,” said Werth on Wednesday. “I still feel young. We’ll wait and see how long the road will be in international and Olympic sport.” She continues to have a lot of fun “developing horses into the sport, from a young horse to a top horse”. At home in the stable in Rheinberg there are several horses that have the potential to start at the Games in Paris in three years.
This is also a goal for von Bredow-Werndl. “I feel at the beginning of my path,” said the Olympic debutante. “I look forward to everything that is to come.” She said of Werth: “I don’t know how long I’ll stick with it, but Isabell’s successes can no longer be surpassed.”
Celebrated together with sushi and pizza beforehand
The day before the Ritten races, Werth, von Bredow-Werndl and Schneider celebrated team gold with the carers in the stable over sushi and pizza. “That was very solemn, warm, intimate and beautiful,” said von Bredow-Wendl. The three horses were rewarded with bananas.
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.
