Making history

Three horses of a lifetime, three superb riders and a raft of back-room supporters make dreams come true in Tokyo as Britain wins its first Olympic eventing team gold for 49 years

- Pippa Roome

Tokyo Olympics, Japan

RELIEF – and disbelief. Those were the reactions of Tom McEwen, Oliver Townend and Laura Collett after securing the first British team gold in Olympic eventing for 49 years.

“On my phone, I’ve got this picture of the team from 1972 in Munich that I’ve used when I’ve given presentations, to inspire everybody and say, ‘That’s what we’re after,’” said performance manager Dickie Waygood after the trio secured the precious metal, producing a black and white image.

Laura Collett said: “It’s going to take a while to sink in – it’s been a dream to be here this week and I feel like someone’s going to pinch me and I’ll wake up.”

She finished ninth on Karen Bartlett, Keith Scott’s and her own London 52.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience from the moment I was selected. It was a tough fight to be chosen and you had to be competitive at every event. We knew we’d left several riders at home with brilliant horses, who would think they should have been here if we’d messed up. It’s a relief to get the job done.

“We came out here knowing we had three of the best horses in the world – horses of a lifetime – and that’s why we’re sat here with a gold medal.”

But to describe this as a dream would be to underestimate the sheer determination, talent and resilience under pressure that was needed to deliver this result. In the new three-to-a-team format no one could afford a slip-up, and the Brits came into this Games as clear favourites and led throughout.