The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today confirmed the five eventing athletes and their horses who will compete for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The selected riders, who were nominated to the BOA for selection to Team GB by the British Equestrian Federation on Monday, will compete at Greenwich Park this summer from the 28th to 31st July.
The athletes selected to Team GB today are:
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The eventing team selected today to compete for Team GB this summer contains a wealth of experience; London 2012 will be Mary King’s sixth Olympic Games, William Fox-Pitt’s fourth, and Kristina Cook’s second. While Piggy French and Zara Phillips will be making their Olympic debuts, both have experience of competing at international championship level on the World and European stage.
Three of the riders - Kristina Cook, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King were part of the eventing team which claimed bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. They will be looking to improve on this performance in London and replicate the success they enjoyed at the 2010 World Championships, where they won team gold, and William Fox-Pitt claimed individual silver. Kristina Cook claimed the team’s only individual medal at the Beijing Games, recording bronze on her trusted mount, Miners Frolic, who she will ride in London this summer.
Piggy French will be hoping to reproduce the form she found when winning individual gold at the Olympic Test event in Greenwich last July. She has also medalled at major international competitions, winning individual silver at the 2009 European Championships and team bronze at the 2011 European Championships alongside William Fox-Pitt and Mary King.
Completing the team is Zara Phillips, who will be following in the footsteps of both her mother and father by representing Great Britain in eventing at an Olympic Games. Zara will be competing in her first Olympics, after injuries to her former horse, Toytown, denied her the opportunity to take part at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Her horse this summer will be High Kingdom, which she guided to third place at the Bramham Horse Trials last weekend.
The addition of the eventers brings the total number of athletes officially selected to compete for Team GB at London 2012 to 247 across twenty one sport disciplines: archery, athletics – marathon, badminton, boxing, canoe slalom, canoe sprint, cycling, diving, equestrian eventing, fencing, hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, synchronised swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and weighlifting.
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said:
Team GB Equestrian Team Leader Will Connell said:
Kristina Cook said:
William Fox-Pitt said:
Piggy French said:
Mary King said:
Zara Phillips said: