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2000
Olympic Games - Sydney, Australia
Weekend: Showjumping action to kickstart week
-- 24 September 2000 - Sydney, Australia
 The
'working week' begins at the Sydney International Equestrian
Centre on Monday with the first qualifying round for
the individual showjumping competition in the Sydney
2000 Olympic Games.
Seventy-nine riders from 29 countries will walk the
course created by designer Leopoldo PALACIOS (VEN) and
co-designer John VALLANCE (AUS) at 9:00. During the
course inspection, competitors decide how they will
ride each fence and tackle the related distances between
fences.
The first qualifying round of the individual showjumping
competition begins at 10:30. This is the first of four
qualifying sections that determine which riders will
compete in the Individual Final on Sunday, 1 October.
Hot favourite for the individual showjumping gold medal
is Brazilian rider Rodrigo PESSOA. Son of the legendary
Nelson PESSOA, who is the Olympic showjumping coach
for Saudi Arabia, Rodrigo PESSOA is the world champion
and winner of three World Cups.
Individual silver and bronze medallists in Atlanta,
Willi MELLIGER (SUI) and Alexandra LEDERMANN (FRA) partner
the same horses that brought them success in 1996 and
will be followed closely by the crowd.
All horses that were presented at the horse inspection
on Sunday were passed fit to compete. Jozsef TURI (HUN)
did not present his horse SUPERVILLE, leaving Hungary
without a representative in the showjumping competition.
Aside from the jumping competition, a horse inspection
for the dressage horses begins at 11.00. The Ground
Jury and FEI Veterinary Delegate will determine whether
each horse is fit to compete. The horses are presented
in alphabetical order of the countries.
The draw for the starting order begins at 14:00. It
determines the time and day each rider competes in the
Grand Prix-Team competition, that stretches over two
days on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Image of Rodrigo Pessoa by Dirk
Caremans - Copyrighted
Source:www.olympics.com
© 1996-2000 SOCOG and IBM. All rights reserved.
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