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FEI World & European Vaulting Championships in Brno
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
The FEI World Vaulting Championships, held in conjunction with the FEI European Vaulting Championships for Juniors are well and truly underway. Brno in the Czech Republic has stepped up to the challenge of hosting this mammoth event and if the delight on all the fans and competitors faces is anything to go by, then it’s a roaring success.
In terms of the sport, 620 team staff from 25 countries accompany 183 competitors in the World Vaulting Championship, and another 129 in the European Junior Vaulting Championship. While another 530 participants and 50 horses also feature in the rich accompanying programme.
Junior favourites… Competitions began as early as Wednesday, with the compulsory tests for both the senior and junior teams as well as the junior individuals. Predictions have been fairly solid so far, as the favourites for the Junior competition seem to be in the lead – Germany followed by Austria. However, one should not underestimate the talents of the Slovakian team, currently sitting in third place and ready to pounce during tomorrow’s final. Switzerland and Great Britain are also in medal contention in fourth and fifth respectively.
On the individual front, the junior male medals are anybody’s guess with four main contenders ahead of tomorrow’s competitions, that is Germany’s Victor Bruesewitz and Christoph Hassenberg currently in first and third respectively, Slovakia’s Tomas Sator in second and France’s Clément Taillez and Vincent Haennel in fourth and fifth; an international podium which accurately reflects the international turn-out for these Championships.
For the girls, Austria has three contenders in the top ten, namely Pia Maria Stepanek (currently placed first), Julia Ulrich in fourth and Julia Popp in seventh place. Germany also have their bases covered with three vaulters in the top ten, namely Sarah Kay currently in second place followed by Pia Engelberty in third and Janina Martin in sixth. Just Russia’s Maria Bondar has upset the German-Austrian domination, slotting in at fifth place. With just one day and two tests – the 2nd compulsory round followed by the Free Test – to impress the judges, tomorrow’s podium and medal ceremony seems deceptively close yet so far…
World titles up for grabs… Team USA and Germany were amongst the medal favourites at the onset of this Championship and they have done everything to live up to this prediction. However, following Austria’s brilliantly rendered Jaws themed Free Test, they are now also firmly rooted amongst the medal contenders in the lead up toward what appears to be a fantastic final on Sunday.
Team USA got off to a good start on Wednesday with the compulsory test, placing first followed by Germany and Austria in equal second. With current World champion Megan Benjamin on the team, as well as an array of other multi medallists, Team USA is the equivalent of the all stars. Nonetheless, today’s Free Test rearranged the favourite teams, placing Germany in first place, closely followed by Austria and USA in third. Further afield, but not entirely out of medal contention, Slovakia and Switzerland sit in fourth and fifth respectively.
Miracle boy Petr Eim for the Czech Republic appears to be in better shape than even he had predicted as he leads in the individual male category, in spite of a recent injury which forced him to quit training for a whole two months. When you consider the level of fitness required, two months out of action would discourage many an athlete.
Meanwhile, defending champion, Kai Vorberg from Germany is just inches from pole position and there is little doubt he will let this one slip by easily. With a day of rest tomorrow, as the Junior medals are awarded, Kai Vorberg will be fine tuning his every move for the big final on Sunday.
Another interesting medal contender currently sits in fourth place, Spain’s one and only Martin Ruiz Ararat. Running a family hotel full time, and not being from a Vaulting nation does not really fit the profile, and more importantly, does not leave much time for this very talented athlete to compete and train - his last competition dates back to the CVI in Brno last year. Nonetheless, it’s a case of quality over quantity and it will be all the more nerve gripping to watch on Sunday as he weaves his magic.
Switzerland’s Patric Looser and France’s Nicolas Andreani are also in a good position to advance to the podium, in fifth and sixth place respectively.
For the women, Germany’s Nicola Stroh is in the lead, but only jut ahead of familiar rival Sissi Jarz form Austria. For Mary McCormick from USA, it’s been a rather tough competition as she bravely confirmed her participation on Wednesday and performed her routine with an unfamiliar horse, as her usual horse, was unable to take part in the competition due to injury.
Live Broadcast Internet fans will be pleased to know that www.ClipMyHorse.de which specialises in the broadcasting of equestrian sports will be following most of the action. More details can be found on www.vaulting2008.com
