Karim Florent Laghouag gave home crowds plenty to cheer about during the Paris Olympics cross-country when jumping a fast clear round aboard his valiant championship partner Triton Fontaine.
The Olympic eventing was set alight by the French crowds with deafening cheers following Karim and the 17-year-old gelding around the entirety of Pierre Le Goupil’s beautifully presented track in the stunning grounds of Versailles.
Karim stopped the clock nine seconds inside the optimum time to sit in second after the first rotation of team riders on his 29.6 dressage.
“Riding round the course with my home crowd gave me goosebumps – it’s just amazing to be here,” said Karim, who was whooping and cheering as he made his way to the mixed zone to speak to the world’s media. “Even with 30 seconds before going out the start box, I could hear the crowd calling my name and that was just amazing – it was the most incredible feeling.”
The Netherlands’ Janneke Boonzaaijer and Champ De Tailleur were another combination to finish inside the 9min2sec optimum time, completing the track with one second to spare. She currently sits in fourth.
Jonelle Price, who is riding at her fourth Olympics for New Zealand, picked up 20 penalties for a run out at 7b, an angled rail two strides after jumping up a bank. She went on to complete the course with an additional 8.4 time-faults with the 12-year-old mare Hiarado.
“Naturally I’m gutted. I think it’s my first mistake of the championship and I like to be pretty reliable in this department,” said a disappointed Jonelle. “It was really such a silly mistake and just one of those moments that I didn’t foresee and perhaps she just went a little green in that first two minutes.
“But fair play to her – she dug pretty deep thereafter and to come home like she did having jumped all the direct routes on the direct distances is great and she will have learned a lot. But we don’t come to the Olympics to learn, we come to deliver, so that was a bit frustrating for sure.”
At the end of the first rotation of team riders on Olympics cross-country day, Britain hold the top spot thanks to a class round from Tom McEwen and JL Dublin. They remain on their 25.8 dressage.
France is in second on 29.6 while the Germans are third on 31.7 after Julia Karjewski’s pathfinding round with Nickel 21. The Netherlands is fourth on 31.9, while Belgium is in fifth on 33.8 after Karin Donckers jumped a steady clear with Leipheimer Van’T Verahof. Australia is sixth on 37.4, Japan is seventh on 40.9 and Ireland is eighth on 41.2.
End of day update: Karim Florent Laghouag now sits in 10th individually, Janneke Boonzaaijer is 16th and Tom McEwen is sixth. In the team standings, France remains in second, while the Netherlands has dropped out of contention into 10th. Belgium remains in fifth, Australia is 15th, Japan is in third and Ireland is eighth.
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