Maher climbed to the top of the podium at the Tokyo Games, beating Swedish Peder Fredriksson (‘All In’), who took silver, as well as in 2016, and Dutch Mackel van der Veluten (‘Beauville Z’) in this Wednesday’s final. who won bronze – a medal he won in the team event in 2012.
The Briton voided the course in his first appearance and had to dispute a tie-breaker with the other two riders who climbed the podium, along with Henrik von Ackermann and Malin Béryard-Johnson from Sweden, and Daisuke Fukushima from Japan. .
In the jump-off, no one committed a foul, and also who was the fastest to complete the demanding route designed by Spanish Santiago Varela Ulastres. Maher’s time was 37s85, compared to 38s02 for Fredriksson and 38s90 for Van Vleuten.
1 and 2 in the world rankings, German Daniel Deutscher and Swiss Martin Fuchs, in their first appearance in the final, were out of medal contention, committing two fouls and losing eight points. It was the same performance by Yuri Mansour, the only Brazilian to reach the decision, who was ranked 20th overall.
Born at Anfield on 30 January 1983, Maher won his second Olympic gold – he was also the team champion at the 2012 London Games. He finished 19th in the individual event in Beijing 2008, ninth in London and 25th in Rio 2016.
After back surgery in early 2020, he recovered with much effort, and even the Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t hindered his dream of going to Tokyo with “Explosion W”, whose Also he won many competitions.
With Maher’s victory, Great Britain won its fifth medal in equestrian events in Tokyo, equaling the performance achieved in London. The country also won team gold and individual silver with Tom McEwen in the CCE, as well as team and individual bronze with Charlotte Dujardin in dressage.
The tie for the team event on the jump will be played on Friday and the final on Saturday. EFE
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