Great Britain’s Ben Maher arrived at the Paris Olympics this week looking to defend the individual gold medal he won in equestrian jumping at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games three years ago.
Ben, who is currently ranked second in the world, rode Explosion W (pictured above) in Japan and this time will be riding the 11-year-old mare Dallas Vegas Batilly after a last minute change of horse.
The individual silver and bronze medallists from Tokyo will be in action again too.
Swedish rider Peder Fredricson’s silver medal-winning All In is now retired, so he brings Catch Me Not S to Paris. This horse has been in great form this year and finished third at the World Cup Final in April.
Meanwhile the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten returns with the same horse who carried him to bronze last time: Beauville Z. Since Tokyo, this combination has also won individual bronze at the 2022 World Championship.
Spotlight on Sweden
When equestrian sport first became part of the Olympics, Team Sweden dominated in the jumping. They won gold in Stockholm in 1912, in Antwerp in 1920 and in Paris in 1924.
It was a long 97-year wait before they claimed a fourth jumping title at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sweden is one of the favourites for taking another gold in Paris this week.
They are the reigning World and European Champions (with wins in 2022 and 2023 respectively), while team member Henrik von Eckermann has topped the individual world rankings for the last two years.
He is one of the favourites for individual gold this time, having clinched back-to-back World Cup titles with his 14-year-old gelding King Edward.
It was on this horse that Henrik finished just off the Olympic podium, in fourth place, three years ago.
Sweden has all three riders from Tokyo nominated as well as two of the same horses: King Edward and Malin Baryard-Johnsson’s feisty mare Indiana, the latter being the alternates in Paris.
Peder Fredricson already had team and individual silver medals to his name from previous Games before taking both team gold and individual silver in Tokyo.
The third Swedish team member is also a veteran. Multi-medalled Rolf-Göran Bengtsson will ride the 12-year-old stallion Zuccero HV in Paris, which will be his sixth Olympic Games.
USA in the hunt
There will be 20 countries battling for a team medal in Paris, including the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists from the USA and bronze medallists from Belgium.
Historically, Germany holds the record for the greatest number of Olympic Jumping gold medals, with five individual and eight team titles.
They won in Berlin in 1936 and were back-to-back champions in Stockholm 1956, Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964. They went on to win again in Munich in 1972, in Seoul in 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney in 2000.
The only other country to post back-to-back team gold in showjumping is the USA.
They have topped the podium three times:
- Los Angeles in 1984
- Athens in 2004
- Beijing in 2008
McLain Ward was on both of those last two winning sides and his consistent Olympic record also includes team silver in Rio 2016 and again in Tokyo. He is competing in Paris too.
Ireland’s Olympic bid
If current form is anything to go by, then the considerably smaller nation of Ireland could be the one to beat.
The Irish have been hugely impressive in Nations Cup competitions in recent years and scooped team silver at last year’s European Championship.
They were ranked the number one country in the world at the start of 2024 and their spectacular victory on the hallowed ground of Aachen in Germany just a few weeks ago suggests they are ones to watch.
However, those European Championships in Italy last summer were a reminder that, in equestrian sport, nothing is predictable.
Austria pushed the mighty Germans off the medal podium to take team bronze on that occasion.
British hopes
Ben Maher is joined in Paris by Scott Brash on Jefferson and Harry Charles riding Romeo 88. The alternates are Joe Stockdale and Cacharel.
Joe, who is the son of the late great Tim Stockdale, is at his first Olympic Games.
Harry competed in Tokyo and his father is Peter Charles, who was a part of the bronze medal-winning team in London 12 years ago.
Nick Skelton and Big Star brought home individual gold in Rio, followed by Ben and Explosion in Tokyo.
British supporters are hopeful that the Paris quartet will be able to bring home another medal for the fourth Games running.
Olympics jumping: format and timetable
In a change to the format introduced at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the team competition will take place first in Paris. This will be followed by the battle for the individual medals three days later.
Teams will consist of three horse and riders combinations with all three scores counting for the team result.
The jumping courses will be designed by Spain’s Santiago Varela. France’s Gregory Bodo is the co-course designer.
Thursday 1 August
Team qualifier: 11am-2pm (10am-1pm BST)
This is open to to 20 teams of three athletes, all starting on a zero score and is one jumping round against the clock.
Team scores will be decided by adding the penalties and time incurred by all three team members.
Horses and riders who do not start, withdraw, are eliminated or retire from the competition will not be given a score, and their team will be placed according to the combined scores of the remaining two team members.
Teams with three members will be placed ahead of teams of two.
The top 10 teams at the end of today (including any tied for 10th place) will go through to tomorrow’s Team Final, when they will jump for medals.
Friday 2 August
Team final: 2pm-4pm (1-3pm BST)
Team medals will be decided today.
There will be 30 starters (10 teams) in total and jumping rounds are ridden against the clock.
In the event of teams finishing on equal penalties, there will then be a jump-off for first place.
Horses and riders will start in reverse order of merit and disqualification of a team member will result in disqualification for that team.
Monday 5 August
Individual qualifier: 2pm-6pm (1pm-5pm BST)
Riders will compete to qualify for the individual final. There will be 75 starters and they will ride against the clock and without a jump-off.
Riders will place according to their penalties and in case of a tie they will be separated by the time of their round. If still tied, they will be placed equal.
Those who finish in the top 30 today will qualify for tomorrow’s final.
Tuesday 6 August
Individual final: 10am-12pm (9am-11am BST)
Individual medals will be won today and brings the equestrian events at the Paris 2024 Olympics to a close.
The final is one jumping round against the clock, with a jump-off for first place if there is a tie on penalties.
All athletes start on a zero score and the starting order will be in reverse order of merit.
Paris Olympics: jumping facts
- 35 countries will compete
- 20 teams
- 75 horse/athlete combinations
- 15 countries represented by individuals.
The youngest competitor is 21-year-old UAE team member Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi.
The oldest competitor is Swedish team member Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, who is 62.
Girl power
No female athlete has ever won Olympic individual gold in Jumping, but Great Britain’s Marion Coakes and the amazing pony, Stroller, claimed individual silver in Mexico in 1968.
Then in Munich in 1972, her compatriot, Ann Moore, took silver riding Psalm.
Three female athletes have won individual jumping bronze in previous years:
- Heidi Robbiani from Switzerland at the 1984 Los Angeles Games aboard Jessica V
- France’s Alexandra Ledermann in Atlanta in 1996 riding Rochet M
- American Beezie Madden at the 2008 Beijing Olympics riding Authentic.
Three former Olympic Individual gold medalists will line out in Paris:
- Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa, who was the champion in Athens in 2004
- Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, who won at the London 2012 Games
- Great Britain’s Ben Maher, who is the defending Olympic champion after winning in Tokyo three years ago.
Olympics jumping form
A total of 33 riders will be competing at their first Olympic Games in Paris, while 65 horses will compete at Olympic level for the first time.
Pierre Jonquères d’Oriola from France is the only athlete to win the individual Olympic jumping title on more than one occasion. Riding Ali Baba, he reigned supreme in Helsinki in 1952.
He was victorious again in Tokyo in 1964 riding Lutteur B.
Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa will be the most experienced equestrian Olympian at this year’s Games when making his eighth appearance. The 51-year-old previously competed in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.
A total of seven former Olympic team gold medallists have been listed for Paris:
- USA’s McLain Ward (Beijing 2008)
- Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Ben Maher (London 2012)
- Frenchman Kevin Staut* (Rio de Janeiro 2016)
- All three members of the winning Swedish side in Tokyo three years ago: Henrik von Eckermann, Peder Fredricson and Malin Baryard-Johnsson. Baryard-Johnsson is listed as team alternate this time.
*Kevin Staut’s Viking D’La Rousserie failed the first horse inspection and so will not continue in the competition.
The Officials
Technical Delegate: Guilherme Nogueira Jorge (BRA)
Ground Jury President: Frances Hesketh-Jones (ITA)
Ground Jury Members:
- Patrice Alvado (FRA)
- Harrij Braspenning (NED)
- David Distler (USA)
- Karoly Fugli (HUN)
Main image of Ben Maher and Explosion at the Tokyo Olympics: copyright FEI/Arnd Bronkhorst
