‘Not good enough’ but Smith pledges to come back fighting
HOLLY Smith delivered a frank assessment of Great Britain’s showjumping performance after they finished 10th in the team final in Tokyo, writes Charlie Bennett, of Sportsbeat.
Three days after Ben Maher won individual gold, hopes were high for another medal but instead Wymeswold’s Smith and Harry Charles produced two error-riddled rides that put GB out of contention.
Maher even decided to pull out before his ride, opting to rest Explosion W for another day.
Smith, 32, who picked up 16 penalty points for knocking off four bars on her way round with horse Denver, did not hold back.
“The result just isn’t good enough. We’re a great showjumping nation, it must be better than that,” she told Eurosport and Discovery+.
“I started off really well I think. At the beginning of the round it was great and I was looking forward to the middle bit of the combination.
“He jumped a little bit to the right at the obstacle towards the water – he normally jumps to the left – so the seven strides then became ridiculously long.
“It just unravelled a bit after that. But we’ll come back fighting from this. I’m tough, my team’s tough, bring on Paris.”
The next Games, in France’s capital, is just three years away.
While some athletes may have called it a day after Tokyo, a shorter Olympic cycle is certainly tempting for others, such as diving superstar Tom Daley and cyclist Jason Kenny.
Smith is already planning her cycle and can take plenty of positives from her first Olympics.
“Obviously, the result in qualifying was better. But it was a tougher track for the final,” she said. “Denver looked strong at the beginning – that’s relatively normal for him – but with the technicality of the course, it made it harder but we’re at the Olympic Games.”
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