Team GB wins first gold medal of Paris Olympics as eventing team defends title
29 July 2024, 13:24 | Updated: 29 July 2024, 14:21
Team GB has won it's first gold medal at the Paris Olympics after the eventing team successfully defended their title.
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Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and Ros Canter enjoyed a perfect opening day, chalking up record low scores for the dressage phase both as a group and for Collett individually.
The trio went into the cross-country stage on Saturday incurring a total of 15.8 penalties to make it tight at the top with second-placed France.
Today saw the conclusion of the competition with the showjumping at the Chateau de Versailles.
Canter and Lordships Graffalo had one fence down before McEwen and JL Dublin delivered a clear round to put Great Britain on the brink of secure the gold medal.
It was then down to Collett on London 52 who knocked down one fence, which was good enough to seal gold.
France secured the silver medal with Japan in third with bronze.
Read more: Tom Daley and Noah Williams win silver in men's synchronised 10m diving at Paris Olympics
It is the team's 5th ever gold in the event, the most of any country in the event, and the first time GB has successfully defended an Olympic eventing title since 1972.
McEwen and Collett were returners to the team that won gold in Tokyo in 2021 while Canter was a new addition.
Collett and McEwen qualified for this afternoon's individual finals in 3rd and 4th positions respectively, while Canter also squeezed into the top 25 in 23rd place.
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It comes after Tom Daley and Noah Williams won silver in the men's synchronised 10m platform earlier on Monday.
Nothing could separate Great Britain and Canada in the first two rounds, with both teams tied on 105.00, but a brilliant third dive from Daley and Williams saw them gain a 4.8 point advantage over the Canadians.
From there Great Britain extended the gap over Canada, consistently placing second in their remaining rounds.
Speaking to the BBC after competing, Daley said: "This time last year deciding to come back, not knowing whether I would make the synchro team let alone qualify for a spot for the Olympics, and now to be here in Paris diving in front of my son, who's just right there, who actually asked me to come back, is just so special."
China's Hao Yang and Junjie Lian took gold in their Olympic debut, while Canada finished third.
The win makes it Daley's fifth Olympic medal as the sports star also holds one gold and three bronzes, and is the first for Williams.
