Maikel van der Vleuten jumps to third place for won bronze medal

 


Maikel van der Vleuten won bronze with his horse Beauville Z at the Olympic Games. He started his final without faults, but still knocked down a pole in the jump-off. He was already certain of a medal, but gold disappeared from view.

"I still have to realize it a little, of course. It's unbelievable. That's the main thing. But when you're so close, you hope for a different color," Van der Vleuten said at the NOS. "I wanted to take a risk and ended up flat, which meant I couldn't reach the height. That's a shame." He was referring to the pole that his horse Beauville Z knocked off.

"I am very proud of this medal. It is a reward for a fantastic week together. We also wanted to settle that fourth place. Dinja van Liere came fourth twice. It would be a shame if that were the case again. Fortunately, we now have another beautiful medal."

Mistake in barrage

In the final, Maikel van der Vleuten was one of only three riders without faults. That meant he was assured of a medal, but the jump-off had yet to determine which colour that would be. He still had to compete against the Swiss Steve Guerdat - who was the fastest at the first attempt - and the German Cristian Kukuk.

Kukuk was the only one who made it through the course again without any faults in the jump-off and he won the gold. Guerdat and Van der Vleuten both made a mistake, but the Swiss was faster and won the silver. The bronze goes to the Dutchman.

At the 2021 Games in Tokyo, Van der Vleuten also won individual bronze. In 2012, he won silver with the Dutch team.
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