Germany dominate vaulting championships

Germany again dominated the vaulting world championships, winning both the team event and the individual male competition in Aachen.

Sunday’s final saw Kair Vorberg (pictured, photo by Kit Houghton/FEI) take the 2006 individual male championship, after an outstanding freestyle on the theme of Mozart. The 24-year-old from Cologne scored straight nines to assure him of the title.

“My freestyle celebrated the genius and the madness of Mozart, perhaps he’s a little like me,” said Vorberg, whose compatriate, Gero Meyer won silver. Slovakia’s Ladislav Majdlen won bronze.

In the team competition, Germany was lucky to maintain its lead after the team horse, Cepin, spooked and caused two vaulters to fall. The US won its first ever team silver and Austria, vaulting to music from the Cirque de Soleil, won bronze.

The British team celebrated their best ever placing at a world games: fifth out of 15 nations. Ross Foreman, Joanne Eccles, Hannah Eccles, Hannah Nicol, James Pate, Ann Stark and Harriet Nicol had rocked the arena with their kur to music by Robbie Williams.

Lunger and team trainer John Eccles described his team as “outstanding”, saying they had worked on the freestyle for several years.

In the individual women final, gold went to America’s Megan Benjamin, 18, from California. British champion female Joanne Eccles scored a nine in her individual freestyle, and placed 11th. Her result was the best individual British score at a WEG.

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