Flawless performances from Kent Farrington, Lucy Davis, and McLain Ward in Tuesday’s team showjumping qualifier allow the U.S. to advance to the finals in a four- way tie for first place.
The talent in Rio’s 2016 showjumping competition is extraordinary making for an intense battle for a spot on the podium. Brazil, Germany, the Neatherlands, and Team USA come out swinging in round one to earn clear scores.
Team USA is on a mission to take back what is theirs, the gold. The team earned back –to-back gold titles in the Athens and Beijing games, but a tough break in London put an end to their consecutive reign. Kent Farrington continues to demonstrate impeccable performances with two clear rounds, making him one of 11 riders to hold that accomplishment in the Rio Games. Lucy Davis and Olympic veteran McLain Ward step up their performances to earn USA a top spot going into Wednesday’s team final. Ward and Davis each earned a 4 point jumping penalty in Sunday’s individual qualifier. Beezie Madden earns 8 jumping penalty points for an early error which the team scratched.
Germany continues to show equestrian dominance in the team showjumping qualifier. Three-time Olympian Christian Ahlmann, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Daniel Duesser continue to dominate the arena with another clear round. Ludger Beerbaum almost adds a fourth flawless round, but a jumping penalty ends his chances at a clear round.
The crowd goes wild for Brazil as they tie for the number one spot going into Wednesday’s final round. Pedro Veniss saves the day for Brazil as their last chance at earing a perfect score. Brazil’s star performer, Stephan De Fritas Baracha has a rough day in the arena and gets disqualified after a clear round from Eduardo Menezes. Alvero Doda De Miranda fires back with another clear performance and Veniss’s cluth performance gives Brazil a true chance to land a spot on the podium for the first time since 2000 and better yet in their home court.
The Dutch clinch a top spot entering Wednesday’s finals after their first three competitiors perform flawless rounds. Jerone Dubbeldam, Maikel Van Der Vleuten and Harrie Smolders carry the team to a perfect round in an intense battle to the podium. The Dutch hungry for team gold after settling for unsatisfying silver in London.
France, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland will all advance to Wednesday’s team finals in hopes to land a spot on the podium. It will be a difficult task for any country to trump Brazil, Germany, The Dutch, or Team USA after the continuous dominance they’ve displayed thus far in the competition.
Individually, eleven riders tie for first place after performing double clear rounds, two riders tie for second place with a time penalty point. All riders with a penalty score of 10 or less will advance to the individual semifinals.
Both team and individual competitions will end in a Battle Royale for a spot on the podium with such a talented group of riders.
The top 45 individual riders will join the top 8 teams in battle for a spot on the podium in the individual semifinals and jumping championship on Wednesday at 9:00 am EST.