Which nations secured Olympic qualification in last night’s showjumping World Championships team final? And who missed out?
Seven countries took home showjumping Olympic qualification for LA28, some delighted with the result and others disappointed to miss out on medals
Seven nations secured Olympic qualification in last night’s showjumping World Championships final in Aachen – and two missed out.
The teams who won a coveted ticket to Los Angeles were Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and France. The USA, who finished fourth, qualify for LA28 automatically as hosts.
Denmark and Sweden were the other two nations in last night’s final, but finished ninth and 10th so failed to take home a qualification.
“We’re very happy to get qualification and even more so to get the medal,” said British team member Harry Charles after Britain collected the bronze behind Germany and Belgium.
The Irish had a tough start to the night when Darragh Kenny had to withdraw Eddy Blue but eventually finished seventh.
Horse Sport Ireland senior jumping manager Jessica Kuerten said: “That hit us very hard but in true Irish style, everybody pulled together and gave it their absolute best shot to earn us the qualification.
“I think when we're very realistic we have to be delighted that we're going to Los Angeles.”
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Steve Guerdat was disappointed in Switzerland’s sixth place: “I think it’s good that we got the qualification, but that’s not what we came for. A medal feels good. The qualification doesn’t feel anything.
“That’s the top of the sport. You see an unbelievable level of competition and I think that our horses all jumped really good and all the riders rode very well. Maybe there’s still a little bit of a lack of experience here and there, but we had some very good rounds. It’s not a bad result, but it’s just not good enough.”
Denmark and Sweden are now among the nations who must seek qualification at next year’s European Championships in Waregem, Belgium. The top three teams who have not already qualified will pick up a ticket to LA there.
Teams who secured showjumping Olympic qualification in Aachen
Germany
Belgium
Great Britain
Italy
Switzerland
Ireland
France
The USA are already qualified as hosts of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.