by Louise Parkes
In a series of competitions that could hardly have been choreographed to better effect, Canada claimed the team title, while America’s McLain Ward clinched individual gold in Jumping on Saturday July 25 at the Pan-American Games 2015 in Caledon Park, Toronto, Canada.
Thursday’s team tussle was an intriguing battle that proved unpredictable to the end when Argentina filled the silver medal spot ahead of the USA in bronze. It continued in the same vein when the individual medals were decided in a two-way jump-off for gold and silver, as well as a five-way race for the bronze. Venezuela’s Andres Rodriguez went head-to-head with Ward, and although he had to settle for silver, his result reflected the consistent theme of the week.
Course designer, Canada’s Michel Vaillancourt, gave riders a gentle introduction on Tuesday when 30 of the 50 starters jumped clear. It was a very different matter two days later in the team competition, when just four of the 40 team members managed a no-fault score in the first round.
Saturday’s individual final was another nail-biter that went right to the wire, and Argentina’s Jose Larocca was one of just three, from a starting field of 35, who returned a zero score in the first round to leave him level with America’s McLain Ward and Venezuela’s Andres Rodriguez. But a mistake in the second round saw the Argentinian battle it out in the five-way jump-off for bronze that took place between all the four-fault riders before the final contest for silver and gold began. Venezuela’s Rodriguez led the way in the jump-off for gold, and left the door open when racing home with Darlon van Groenhove in the fast time of 39.45 seconds, but leaving one element of the double on the floor. Ward kept a cool head to return a clear in 42.89 to take the individual title.
Results:
Team: GOLD - Canada 7 faults: Showgirl (Yann Candele) 1/1, Tripple X (Tiffany Foster) 7/0, Coco Bongo (Eric Lamaze) 4/0, Dixson (Ian Millar) 1/5; SILVER - Argentina 8 faults: Whitney (Ramiro Quitana) 5/0, Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) 1/6, Abunola (Luis Pedro Biraben) 0/5, Cornet du Lys (Jose Larocca) Jr 1/1; BRONZE - USA 12 faults: Rothchild (McLain Ward) 4/0, Lilli (Georgina Bloomberg) 4/0, Ohlala (Lauren Hough) 4/0, Gazelle (Kent Farrington) 5/0.
Individual: GOLD - Rothchild (McLain Ward) USA 0/0/0 42.89; SILVER - Darlon van Groenhove (Andres Rodriguez) 0/0/4 39.45; BRONZE - Ohlala (Lauren Hough) USA 4/0/0 42.15.
In a series of competitions that could hardly have been choreographed to better effect, Canada claimed the team title, while America’s McLain Ward clinched individual gold in Jumping on Saturday July 25 at the Pan-American Games 2015 in Caledon Park, Toronto, Canada.
Thursday’s team tussle was an intriguing battle that proved unpredictable to the end when Argentina filled the silver medal spot ahead of the USA in bronze. It continued in the same vein when the individual medals were decided in a two-way jump-off for gold and silver, as well as a five-way race for the bronze. Venezuela’s Andres Rodriguez went head-to-head with Ward, and although he had to settle for silver, his result reflected the consistent theme of the week.
Course designer, Canada’s Michel Vaillancourt, gave riders a gentle introduction on Tuesday when 30 of the 50 starters jumped clear. It was a very different matter two days later in the team competition, when just four of the 40 team members managed a no-fault score in the first round.
Saturday’s individual final was another nail-biter that went right to the wire, and Argentina’s Jose Larocca was one of just three, from a starting field of 35, who returned a zero score in the first round to leave him level with America’s McLain Ward and Venezuela’s Andres Rodriguez. But a mistake in the second round saw the Argentinian battle it out in the five-way jump-off for bronze that took place between all the four-fault riders before the final contest for silver and gold began. Venezuela’s Rodriguez led the way in the jump-off for gold, and left the door open when racing home with Darlon van Groenhove in the fast time of 39.45 seconds, but leaving one element of the double on the floor. Ward kept a cool head to return a clear in 42.89 to take the individual title.
Results:
Team: GOLD - Canada 7 faults: Showgirl (Yann Candele) 1/1, Tripple X (Tiffany Foster) 7/0, Coco Bongo (Eric Lamaze) 4/0, Dixson (Ian Millar) 1/5; SILVER - Argentina 8 faults: Whitney (Ramiro Quitana) 5/0, Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) 1/6, Abunola (Luis Pedro Biraben) 0/5, Cornet du Lys (Jose Larocca) Jr 1/1; BRONZE - USA 12 faults: Rothchild (McLain Ward) 4/0, Lilli (Georgina Bloomberg) 4/0, Ohlala (Lauren Hough) 4/0, Gazelle (Kent Farrington) 5/0.
Individual: GOLD - Rothchild (McLain Ward) USA 0/0/0 42.89; SILVER - Darlon van Groenhove (Andres Rodriguez) 0/0/4 39.45; BRONZE - Ohlala (Lauren Hough) USA 4/0/0 42.15.
