In a competition full of history-making performances, Michael Jung of Germany cemented himself as the all-time greatest Olympic eventing rider with his record-breaking gold medal.
Jung (riding Chipmunk FRH) took home the gold after an incredible run throughout the competition that started with an striking dressage score of 17.8 -- a score that would have set a world record had he not followed Laura Collett’s own record-setting performance. Jung was perfect through the cross-country and jumping rounds, barring a single dropped rail in the jumping qualifier (a four-point penalty), to finish with a total score of 21.8.
His victory in Paris makes Jung the first rider to ever win three Olympic individual eventing gold titles — which he won also won in London and Rio — adding yet another historic entry to a rider already inscribed in the Eventing Rider Association Hall of Fame. The German also holds the record for the highest-ever score in five-star eventing with a 20.1 in 2022 and was the first athlete to ever hold the Olympic, World and European titles at the same time when he completed the hat trick in 2012.
Australian Christopher Burton leapt into second place after two stunning runs on Day 3, taking home a hard-fought silver medal. After scoring a 22 during Day 1’s dressage competition, placing him in fourth, Burton raced his way into medal position with a flawless run in the cross-country event on his mount Shadow Man. With only 0.4 points in time penalties on his jumping first attempt and a perfect second round, Burton overtook Collett to take second place. His silver medal is the two-time Olympian’s second Olympic medal, adding to his team bronze from 2016.
Collett rounded out the podium with a bronze medal after her own historic competition. The British rider made headlines on Day 1 after scoring a historic 17.5, breaking an Olympic dressage record that was set in 2000. She fell to second place after a slight time penalty in the cross-country event, but a downed rail in her qualifying jumping run put her on target for the event’s bronze. She will also leave Paris with the team eventing gold medal, which she won with British teammates Tom McEwen — who finished fourth in the individual competition — and Rosalind Canter.
Notably, four athletes rode perfect courses in their cross-country and two jumping rounds to finish the competition with their dressage score. McEwen topped the list, followed by fifth place finisher Kazuma Tomoto of Japan, ninth place Janneke Boonzaijer of the Netherlands and twelfth place Frida Andersen of Sweden.
For the United States, Boyd Martin recovered from an uncharacteristic dressage mistake to finish the competition in fourth, picking up just 1.6 points in cross country and riding perfect courses in both of his jumping runs. He was the United States’ top rider, finishing ahead of Liz Halliday-Sharp, who came home inside the top 20.