First German gold since 1996: Bredow-Werndl dominates dressage singles ahead of Werth


First German gold since 1996
Bredow-Werndl dominates dressage singles ahead of Werth

25 years ago Isabell Werth won the last German Olympic gold in dressage singles to date. Since then, the equestrian icon has won three silver medals – and has to make do with second place in Tokyo too. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is the new Olympic champion, bronze goes to the British Charlotte Dujardin.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl was able to celebrate her second Olympic gold when the last ride in the Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo was not yet over. One day after winning the team, the 35-year-old dressage rider also prevailed in the individual freestyle competition with her mare Dalera, leaving her former teacher Isabell Werth behind, who had to be content with silver. “I am very happy,” commented the winner. The tears of joy ran before the last two starters rode. She was so superior. “Sometimes I felt like I was doing a bit of a fire dance, on the knife edge,” said the 35-year-old. “But it all worked out.”

Werth not only missed victory, but also an Olympic record. With another gold medal, the 52-year-old would have drawn level in the German medal ranking with canoeist Birgit Fischer, who has eight gold and four silver medals in her Olympic record and is still in first place ahead of Werth. Team Olympic champion Dorothee Schneider was 15.

The winner had ridden out of the square before, beaming. She patted her horse, thanked Dalera for the performance. As the second rider in the group of the best six pairs, she put the competition around Werth under pressure with a splendid appearance. “At the beginning I used tactics a bit,” the 35-year-old explained her performance: “In the end I took risks. There weren’t any major blunders, but there were many highlights.” She is the first German Olympic champion in the arena since Werth’s success in Atlanta in 1996.

Werth is not yet thinking of quitting

Von Bredow-Werndl had once again presented a magical performance with her mare and, to the music of the film La-La-Land, also showed the best performance in the third test in Tokyo. The couple danced to the next gold one day after their victory with the team without a mistake. The two were so dominant that it was already clear during Dorothee Schneider’s final ride that the gold was safe.

The rider, trained by Werth for a few years after her junior years, also delighted with music in the freestyle after the Grand Prix and Special. But the tension was much greater for them than in the team competition. She admitted, “Today it was really about: Am I really first?”

For the record rider, the medals in Tokyo are far from over. “It’ll be a few more days,” said Werth. “I still feel young. We’ll wait and see how long the road will be in international and Olympic sport.” She continues to have great fun “developing horses into the sport, from a young horse to a top horse”. At home in the stable in Rheinberg there are several horses that have the potential to start at the Games in Paris in three years.

This is also a goal for von Bredow-Werndl. “I feel at the beginning of my path,” said the Olympic debutante. “I look forward to everything that is to come.” She said of Werth: “I don’t know how long I’ll stick with it, but Isabell’s successes can no longer be surpassed.”

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