Olympics: Double gold for Germany in equestrian three-day eventing

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

HONG KONG - Germany won the first two Olympic equestrian gold medals on Tuesday, winning both the team and individual three-day eventing competitions.

A 45-year-old dentist from northern Germany, Hinrich Romeike, became the superstar of the evening, after a hobby that became an obsession elevated him to the stratospheric heights of Olympic athleticism.

Australia took the team silver medal, and Britain bronze after a gripping final show-jumping component of the three-day event team competition.

Germany finished on 166.10 penalty points, ahead of Australia's 171.20, and Britain's 185.70.

"These were our Games, everything went right," said Romeike.

The double victory was consolation of sorts for Germany's bitter loss in the Athens Games in 2004, when the gold medal was taken away from the team and given to France after Bettina Hoy, one of the best-known riders in the world, was penalised for crossing the start line twice.

But a rapturously happy Romeike said what happened in Athens was now a distant memory.

"Athens is forgotten," he told reporters after leaping into the arms of his waiting team-mates.

"Everyone in the sport is friends again," he said, adding he "might have a little drink" to celebrate.

He started his celebrations in manic style, galloping Marius repeatedly around the Shatin arena after the midnight medal award ceremonies.

In the individual competition, Romeike finished his round as he began, with 54.20 penalty points.

The silver medal went to Gina Miles of the USA, who rode McKinlaigh in a perfect round to finish on 56.10.

Third place and the individual bronze went to Kristina Cook of Britain, who clinched her medal with Miners Frolic and 57.40 penalty points.

After leaping into the arms of his team-mates, Romeike said: "I have been so happy with the team gold - that had been my dream. Now this gold is just the icing on a perfect cake."

Romeike is married with three children and runs a dental practice which he said had installed a large flat screen television and provided a "public viewing" of the Hong Kong events.

"They are having champagne, while we here are drinking water," he said.

In the team jump-off that began the evening, Romeike effectively clinched the gold for his team as the last of 57 riders to take on the 13 fences.

His one fault, which cost him four penalty points, may have been a personal disappointment for a true amateur who said he rode "for pleasure".

But after Australia's Megan Jones and her mount Irish Jester, the penultimate combination in the show-jumping, failed to go clear, the gold was only going one way.

Two of the Germans jumped clear rounds - Andreas Dibowski on Butts Leon and Frank Ostholt on Mr Medicott.

The British knew early on that they were playing for bronze, with team anchor William Fox-Pitt telling reporters after his own imperfect round he hoped he'd done "enough to keep us in the hunt for the bronze medal".

The only sour spot came with the disqualification of Phillip Dutton for breaching a new rule limiting the weight of a horse's boots to 500 grams.