Shock moment Swedish Olympic showjumper and world No 1 is thrown over the top of his horse and into an obstacle during the men’s individual final in Paris
Concerning scenes unfolded in the men’s individual showjumping final on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics after Swedish rider and world No 1 Henrick von Eckermann was thrown from his horse and into a sign.
BBC commentators Andy Austin and Nick Luck were left perplexed by the incident that saw Von Eckermann lose control of his horse, King Edward, as he made his way around the course.
The duo were around 35 seconds into their run and were going well when King Edward appeared to lose his balance coming down from a jump.
The horse subsequently galloped towards the side of the arena, where he stopped suddenly, throwing Von Eckermann forwards, head over heels into a piece of apparatus.
The rider seemed to hit the floor first with the soles of his feet before his back landed on the dusty ground and luckily, while he appeared to be jaded by the fall, he quickly rose to his feet to walk after King Edward, who had galloped off in the other direction.
The Swede, who clinched gold at Tokyo 2020 in team jumping and two gold medals in the 2022 World Championships, was eliminated following the fall.
Austin told the BBC that it was ‘the most extraordinary thing’ he had ever seen.
Eurosport commentator, Richard Vaughan, stated: ‘I can’t believe it.
‘Something was not right. He looked a bit odd yesterday, I thought they did very well to scramble around but it has all fallen apart.
‘It was unravelling earlier on. They got over the big double then the water seemed OK but then after that, the horse seemed to run away.’
Germany’s Christian Kukuk would go on to claim gold on board Checker 47 while Steve Guerdat and Dynamix De Belheme would take silver.
The Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z took bronze, while Team GB’s Scott Brash and Ben Maher would come sixth and ninth respectively.
Earlier this morning, fellow Brit Harry Charles announced that he would not be competing in the individual jumps.
It came after the three british riders had claimed gold in the team jumps last week. But Charles’ horse, Romeo 88, appeared to have sustained an injury, ruling the duo out of today’s event.
Charles is also dating the daughter of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Eve, an American model, who also competes in showjumping.
He took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to state that Romeo 88 had suffered a suffers ‘small overreach’ and had opted to not compete as a precautionary measure.
‘Unfortunately, me and Romeo will not start the individual final today in Paris,’ he posted on his Instagram on Monday,’ Charles wrote in a post on Instagram.
‘After a small overreach yesterday he is not quite the 110 per cent that he has been the whole Games.
‘Maybe I am a little disappointed but, honestly, not really. He has given me so much and took me beyond my dreams. We’re leaving Paris with a gold medal and, more importantly, a happy Romeo so that’s way more than enough for me.
‘Team GB have a great shot at the medals with two of the best today in Scott and Ben so we will be on the sidelines cheering them on.
‘Thank you to everyone for all the support you have given me and Romeo throughout the Games and making it an experience of a lifetime.’
