The Swiss show jumpers caused a major disappointment at the Games in Paris. The trio of Steve Guerdat, Pius Schwizer and Martin Fuchs failed to qualify for the team competition.
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- The show jumping trio of Steve Guerdat, Pius Schwizer and Martin Fuchs fail to qualify for the team competition.
- The disappointment is huge, especially as the ambitions on the Swiss side had been high; Guerdat had even spoken of the best team by far that he had ever traveled to the Olympic Games with.
- The Swiss will have a second chance at the beginning of next week in the individual competition.
Guerdat in the saddle on the mare Dynamix with two knockdowns and Schwizer with the stallion Vancouver with three knockdowns had set final rider Fuchs a high, too high task. The rider from Zurich only made one mistake with the gelding Leone Jei, but the 24 points were too many for one of the top ten places that entitle the rider to take part in Friday's final.
If Fuchs had remained flawless, he would still have qualified for the final. Based on the total time of each team, which would have been used as a criterion in the event of a tie, Switzerland would have finished in 9th place instead of 12th with 20 penalty points.
The disappointment is all the greater, especially as the ambitions on the Swiss side had been high and Guerdat had even spoken of the best team by far that he had ever traveled to the Olympic Games with. Schwizer had also spoken of winning a medal. The goals were by no means set too high. Three experienced riders with excellent riding - the prerequisites for turning words into deeds would of course have been in place.
The Swiss will have their second chance at the beginning of next week in the individual competition. On Monday, the qualification is on the program, in which they will have to secure one of the 30 places that will allow them to start in the decision on Tuesday.
