The Boss’s daughter jumps to team silver
Jessica Springsteen won a silver medal on her Olympic Games showjumping debut as the United States finished second behind Sweden in the team competition.
Springsteen, the 29-yearold daughter of rock star Bruce Springsteen, secured a podium finish with teammates Laura Kraut and Mclain Ward after a jump-off for gold.
It proved a disappointing night for Great Britain, though, after their first two riders Holly Smith and Harry Charles had 24 penalties between them.
With the team way off medal contention, the decision was taken to withdraw Ben Maher’s individual champion Explosion W.
GB equestrian team leader Richard Waygood said: “Ben and Explosion have shown their world-class calibre in winning individual gold, and we have collectively decided it is in the best interests to save Explosion for another day.”
Meanwhile, a German modern pentathlon coach has been thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics for punching a horse during competition.
Kim Raisner was trying to assist German athlete Annika Schleu as she battled to control Saint Boy ahead of her showjumping round in the women’s event on Friday.
Athletes are given only 20 minutes to bond with an unfamiliar horse before their round and Schleu, who’d been leading the field, was in tears as she came into the ring.
Saint Boy, who had already proven a tricky ride for his first athlete, bucked and refused to trot around the course, with a number of people on social media raising concerns about the way Schleu and Raisner were treating the horse.
A statement from the world governing body for modern pentathlon, the UIPM read: “The UIPM Executive Board has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women’s modern pentathlon competition.”