Team GB jump to ninth gold medal of Paris 2024 with showjumping team victory

Equestrian Jumping 02 Aug 24

The equestrian legacy lives on at Paris 2024 with team showjumping gold.

Ben Maher, Harry Charles and Scott Brash cruised round the sun-laden course at the Palace of Versailles course, dropping just two points on their quest for glory.

After qualifying in third place, the team needed clear rounds as they competed against strong German and American teams.

Maher saw just one fault on the opening run, before Charles showed poise and maturity to clear the course.

With Team GB sat in gold medal position with one rider to go, Brash and Hello Jefferson entered the arena knowing that knocking a fence would be the difference between Olympic gold and silver.

And the pairing crossed the line with one time penalty and a gold medal as the crowds erupted after holding their breath for 79.54 seconds.

"The lads had put me in an unbelievable position and thankfully it all paid off," said Brash.

"Jefferson was amazing, he coped unbelievably with the atmosphere and stayed relaxed and cool and focused on his job."

"It’s pretty unbelievable, it’s going to take a few days or weeks to sink in," added Charles.

"Olympic champions sounds pretty good. We’ve got the horses to thank, a lot of background staff, teams, grooms, farriers, vets, everyone has come together to make this possible.

"You see us with the medals but it is really a village behind us. We’re very grateful."

A last-minute horse change didn’t faze Maher who rode Dallas Vegas Batilly, competing first for the team.

The former world number one’s Olympic experience was evident as he completed the course in 79.65 seconds, picking up one time penalty.

This gold medal makes Maher a three-time Olympic champion after he won gold in the same event at London 2012 and individual gold at Tokyo 2020.

Both Brash and Maher were part of the London 2012 team when they won gold alongside Peter Charles, the father of the third Paris 2024 team member, Harry Charles.

Charles and his father are now the first British father-son Olympic champions since rowers Dickie (1948) and Charles (1908) Burnell.

"I would probably say none of us could have done a better job today than we did," said Maher.

"It’s not like we will go home and think we could do something better than we did and it’s very rare in our sport. Everything came together and it was just an amazing feeling."

All three riders will return to Versailles to compete in the individual competition on 5 August were Maher will set out to defend his individual title he won in Tokyo.

Sportsbeat 2024

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