Equestrian-Germany’s von Bredow-Werndl wins dressage gold in Tokyo repeat

VERSAILLES :Jessica von Bredow-Werndl hailed the “most incredible dancefloor” in the world after successfully defending her Olympic title in individual dressage on Sunday ahead of fellow German Isabell Werth in a repeat the result from Tokyo in 2021.
The one-two underscores Germany’s continued strength in equestrian disciplines, one of its last strongholds in reliably delivering gold medals.
Making her 17-year-old mare Dalera dance with elevated passage trots and rhythmic flying changes to a medley of Edith Piaf hits, von Bredow-Werndl reached an overall score of 90.09 per cent.
The Games were the last big stage for Trakehner warmblood Dalera, who will retire as one of the best dressage horses in Olympic history.
“She is such a cool dude, but I could feel, especially during her victory lap, how much she enjoys it,” von Bredow-Werndl said of the horse.
“I don’t know when I will have a horse like her again, or if.”
Werth, who won silver in the last Olympics and on Saturday became Germany’s most decorated Olympian, was second again, albeit on a new horse, 10-year-old mare Wendy.
Charlotte Fry won bronze, repeating the third place Britain achieved in Tokyo with Charlotte Dujardin, who was barred from this year’s Games over a video that showed her whipping a horse’s legs multiple times. Dujardin has said she made an error of judgment that was out of character.
Since her Tokyo debut, von Bredow-Werndl, has finished the four Olympic dressage contests she has taken part in with a gold medal, pocketing the two individual titles and being in the winning teams at the two Games.
Germany secured the razor-thin team win over Denmark and Britain on Saturday. German eventing rider Michael Jung won his fourth Olympic gold medal on Monday.
Asked how she felt riding in a packed Versailles arena against the backdrop of the world-famous chateau, Bredow-Werndl said: “This is the most incredible arena, the most incredible dancefloor in this world and I am overwhelmed and extremely grateful.”
Bredow-Werndl, 38 and a mother of two, lives on a horse farm close to the Bavarian Alps with her extended family, including her parents, who also had high-level sports careers, and her brother, Benjamin Werndl, a leading dressage rider.
Dinja van Liere, riding Hermes, was fourth while Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour – seen as one of the hottest contenders for the final after getting the best marks in the qualification and team events – came in fifth.