Horseback Riding
Mélody Johner, pictured here during the Paris Olympics with her horse at the time, Toubleu de Rueire, achieved the best result in Aachen for the well-balanced Swiss team
Keystone
The eventing team secured its spot at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles at the World Championships in Aachen.
Today at 17:46Although Switzerland fell off the podium in the final jumping event, it still achieved its main goal by finishing in 5th place.
Following Nadja Minder’s elimination, all three Swiss results counted toward the standings on Sunday. Robin Godel and Grandeur de Lully incurred four penalty points, while Felix Vogg and Frieda incurred 8.8. Mélody Johner and Erin also incurred 8.8 penalty points. With a total of 128.1 penalty points, Switzerland missed the bronze medal by just under 15 penalty points—which is equivalent to more than three knockdowns.
Great Britain won the gold medal with 84.0 points, ahead of Germany (95.6) and the United States (113.5). After the dressage and cross-country events, Switzerland had, somewhat surprisingly, held third place in the interim standings. A medal would have been a major coup, but with a fifth-place finish, the team met its internal goal.
In the individual competition, Germany’s Michael Jung secured the World Championship title on Chipmunk thanks to a clear round. Jung won with 23.0 penalty points, narrowly ahead of Rosalind Canter (23.4) and Laura Collett (28.0). The top Swiss rider was Johner in 18th place. Vogg and Godel followed in 22nd and 23rd place, respectively. Individual rider Angelika Dubach finished 51st in her first championship.