Michael Jung is world champion in eventing for the second time. The 44-year-old won the title on 16 August at the world championships in Aachen, riding his stallion Chipmunk. He jumped a clear round in the final phase and defended his narrow lead from the cross-country. On 23.0 penalty points he finished ahead of the British riders Rosalind Canter and Laura Collett, ZDF reports.
For the four-time Olympic champion it is the first individual world title in 16 years. At the 2022 world championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Jung and Chipmunk also led going into the final day. A fault at the last fence cost him the win then.
The title stands for a broad haul by the host nation. The championships' official medal table credits Germany with 15 medals: six gold, three silver and six bronze. Great Britain follows with ten medals, France with four.
The vaulters lay the foundation
The largest share of that comes from the vaulters, according to Sportschau. Alice Layher won individual gold on 15 August. The group "Team Norka" won the team competition on the same day. A further gold medal followed on 19 August, when Heidmarie Dresing won the Grade II para-dressage with Poesie 43.
In the eventing team competition, by contrast, Germany finished second. The defending champions ended on 90.4 penalty points and had to concede to Great Britain on 85.0. The United States took bronze. Julia Krajewski, runner-up in 2022, picked up a fault with Nickel and placed 17th. Malin Hansen-Hotopp collected only 1.2 time penalties on Quidditch and finished ninth. Libussa Lübbeke ended her first world championships in 41st place, and the individual rider Christoph Wahler came 16th.
The home championships are not settled yet. The show jumping competitions are still to come on the closing weekend, Sportschau reports. They can move the gap between Germany and Great Britain in either direction.