2000 Olympic Games - Sydney, Australia

Germany Wins Fifth Team Gold Medal

-- 27 September 2000 - Sydney, Australia

Germany won the team dressage gold medal on Wednesday, their fifth successive Olympic title, holding off a strong challenge from the Netherlands. Germany's best three riders finished on 5,638 points ahead of the Netherlands on 5,579 and the United States on 5,165 points. Germany have now won each team dressage gold medal since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and at eight of the last ten Olympic Games. For the third straight Games the Netherlands won silver and the US won bronze.

The German and Dutch riders operated on a different level to the rest of the field, with the two teams accounting for eight of the top nine individual scores of the competition.

Only Denmark's Lone Jorgensen could get near them, posting an individual score of 1,796 points to be eighth in the individual contest. No one from any other nation scored above 1,750 points.

As well as deciding the teams event, Tuesday and Wednesday's grand prix was the first of three rounds in the individual competition of 48 riders.

The top 25 riders now progress to the grand prix special on Friday, with the top 15 after that competing in a freestyle round on Saturday to determine the individual medallists.

Germany's Isabell Werth leads the individual standings on 1,908 points, or 76.32 percent, from Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands on 1,875 points, or 75.00 percent.

Image of Isabell Werth by Diana Derosa

Source Text: ® Olympics.com / SOCOG

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