Guerdat strikes Olympic silver

The Swiss rider, a star of the Palexpo arena and many others around the world, will be one of the main attractions at CHI Geneva 2024, having won the 22^nd Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final on Venard de Cerisy in Geneva last December.

An Olympic champion at London 2012 in tandem with Nino des Buissonnets, the 42-year-old Guerdat now has a second individual Olympic medal to his name. The Jura man was one of three riders to go clear on a very tight course, booking his place in a jump-off with Germany’s  Christian Kukuk, riding Checker 47, and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands, on Beauville Z. First up was Kukuk, who went clear again, in a fast time, while Van der Vleuten incurred four faults on his round. The last to jump, Guerdat gave it his all in a bid for a second Olympic title, which sadly ended when he brought a pole down at a vertical fence after making a very tight turn, leaving him in second place.

“After winning in London, I perhaps didn’t realise what it meant and I didn’t celebrate it enough, though I was still young at the time,” said Guerdat in an interview with Swiss equestrian magazine Cavalier Romand yesterday. “But today, I feel very happy and proud to win this latest medal. And I want to make the most of it with my team and everyone close to me, who have all made so many sacrifices to help me with my sport.”

Partnering Leone Jei, fellow Swiss rider Martin Fuchs came within an inch of making the jump-off himself, but incurred a fault at the last obstacle to miss out on a shot at the medals.