Laura Collett has reached new Olympic heights after adding an individual eventing bronze to a successfully retained team gold at Paris 2024.
Just hours after steering Britain’s eventing team to the top of the podium alongside Rosalind Canter and Tom McEwen, Collett continued her medal-winning form to claim individual honours riding London 52.
Collett hailed her horse for rising to the occasion in the grandiose gardens of Louis XIV's Versailles.
“I never thought this day would come,” she said. “I owe absolutely everything to that horse and the team that have made it possible just to get here.
“I don't think he's ever tried so hard. This is him. This is all him. I'm just the lucky one that has to steer him and aim at the right jumps. But this is a day I'll never ever forget.
“I’m so lucky that I’m the one who gets to ride into an arena like that and come out with a team gold and an individual bronze medal at the Olympics, but there are so many people that have contributed. I just want to say thank you to every single one of them.”
Not another one...BRONZE for Laura Collett & London 52! 🥉
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 29, 2024
She follows up her team gold, with third place in the individual competition!#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6nILLnqR0I
Going into Paris, Collett already knew how it felt to achieve Olympic stardom, having played her part in securing Team GB’s first team eventing gold in 48 years at Tokyo 2020.
However, with the presence of fans proving the difference, Collett has a new career-high point to boast.
“To be honest, it’s incomparable,” she said. “I thought Tokyo was special but this has blown it out the water.
“To ride into a crowd like this and feel like every single person is willing you on and lifting you higher and higher, and London definitely felt like that.”
A career in equestrian seemed nearly impossible for the 34-year-old just over a decade ago when, in 2013, she found herself in an induced coma with a punctured lung after suffering a heavy fall from her horse.
Incredibly, she was back in the saddle just 11 days after coming out of her coma, winning her first event upon her return, and since then she has been on a path to the top.
“So many years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears,” Collett added. “An emotional rollercoaster doesn't even do it justice.
“But for moments like this, every single bad day is so worth it, and you just have to never give up and never lose hope, you can never dream too big.”
Sportsbeat 2024