Paris Olympics 2024: Equestrian veteran Christopher Burton wins silver medal in Individual Jumping final
Australian Christopher Burton completed an epic comeback, scoring a silver medal in the Equestrian Individual Jumping final.
Having once given up the sport, Burton was full of emotion as he produced a centimetre-perfect final day to earn a spot on the medal podium.
Going second-last in the final jump, Burton and his mount, Shadow Man, just needed a clean run to put themselves in contention.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.And he delivered the goods, not registering a single penalty to jump into the lead with one rider to go.
However, as it did for Australia’s flag bearer Jess Fox in the Kayak final on day two, it came down to a German champion to decide Burton’s fate.
With the entire arena looking on, Michael Jung held his nerve, dashing the Aussie’s hopes of gold.
“I’m not gonna lie. I thought we had him there for a second,” smiled Burton, saluting the four-time champion Jung, who became the first man to win three individual eventing golds.
“But I just gave a cheeky interview on German television. I said ‘Mickey, I’ve hated you for so long, but you’re the greatest of all-time, mate’. He’s amazing. So there’s no shame in coming second behind that bloke.
“Watching his round, it’s a funny thing. The Germans call it schadenfreude, it’s a lovely term. You sort of want to watch, but then you want to enjoy the moment - and it’s a little bit tearing ... I honestly can’t believe it.”
Jung prevailed on 21.80 penalty points, 0.60 clear of Burton. Laura Collett, who’d earlier led Britain to the team title, finished third on 23.10.
Remarkably, Burton and Shadow Man only had their first competition in March, after owner and rider Ben Hobday - believing he had no chance of making the Olympics himself amid huge UK competition - loaned the horse for six months to his pal in a rare display of equestrian ‘Ashes’ co-operation.
Burton, who’d won team bronze in Rio eight years ago, had moved into show jumping but decided on one more crack at eventing with the gift horse that Hobday convinced him was “the best in the world”.
“I took a little break from eventing, so it’s really nice to come back and have this happen. Just right now, I can’t help but think I’m a lucky man,” said the popular figure known to his teammates as ‘Burto’.
